Quyết định 258/2005/QD-TTg

DECISION

ON THE ESTABLISHMENT AND STIPULATION OF FUNCTIONS, DUTIES, AUTHORITIES AND ORGANIZATION OF THE ELECTRICITY REGULATORY AUTHORITY UNDER THE MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on the Organization of the Government dated 25 December 2001;
Pursuant to the Law of Electricity dated 03 December 2004;
Upon the proposals of the Minister of Industry,

DECIDES:

Article 1. Establishment, position and function

1. To establish the Electricity Regulatory Authority under the Ministry of Industry.

2. That the Electricity Regulatory Authority is responsible for helping the Minister of Industry (hereafter called the Minister) with the functions of regulating the electricity activities and power market in order to contribute to the secure, stable, and with high quality electricity supply, efficient and economical electricity uses, and the lawful, fair and transparent legal framework.

3. That the Electricity Regulatory Authority has a legal status, separate official seal and bank account; has the operating budget coming from state budget and from collecting fees for electricity activities; has the head office located in Hanoi and Branches of Authority for other regions; has the official English name as Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (abbreviated as ERAV).

Article 2. Responsibilities and authorities

The Electricity Regulatory Authority has the following responsibilities and authorities:

1. To establish the national power expansion planning, power sector restructuring plan in accordance with the roadmap of creation and development of the Vietnam power market in order for the Minister to submit it to the Primer Minister for approval.

2. To establish the retail electricity tariff in order for the Minister to review and submit to the Primer Minister for approval.

3. To submit to the Minister in order to promulgate the following regulations of:

a/ Conditions, processes, procedures to grant, to alter, to supplement and to withdraw the electricity activities licences;

b/ The competitive power market rules; transmission network connection rules; dispatching rules in the competitive power market, electricity supply quality standard and other rules related to the power market;

c/ Appraisal of the fees related to the power market; transmission fees, distribution fees, power market entry fees, power market transaction fees, regulatory fees, ancillary service fees and others;

d/ Appraisal of generation price frame, power wholesale price frame;

đ/ Procedures and processes to select the investors for generation expansion in acordance with least cost principles;

e/ Investment support and incentive plans for demand side management (DSM) and energy efficiency (EE) projects.

g/ Competition rules, anti-market power rules maintaining fair competition and protecting the benefits of power market participants;

h/ Dispute resolution procedures related to competitive power market;

i/ Handling the participants that violate the power market rules;

k/ Conditions, procedures for disconnecting or reducing the energy quantity generated for sellers and the energy quantity consumed for buyers;

4. To appraise the financial support plans for demand side management (DSM) and energy efficiency (EE) projects, of selection results of least cost generation investors.

5. To appraise the activities of granting, alterating, supplementing and withdrawing the electricity activities licences for organizations and individuals participated in electricity activities.

6. To inspect the execution of:

a/ Power market rules;

b/ Provisions stipulated in electricity activities licences for electricity units;

c/ Effective long-term power purchase agreement (PPA);

d/ Approved demand side management (DSM) and energy efficiency (EE) programs and projects;

d/ Electricity tariff and fees, provisions and procedures of power market operation and other legal provisions related to power market operation for electricity units and participants in electricity activities.

7. To implement the duties related to retail electricity tariffs, prices and fees, in particular:

a/ To collect suggestions from organizations related to retail electricity tariffs in order to submit to the Minister for review before submiting it to the Prime Minister for approval, and to instruct the implementation after approval;

b/ To approve the bilateral power purchase agreement in order to ensure the tariff detarmination to be in accordance with the promulgated tariff detarmination methodology and least cost principles;

c/ To approve the selection results of least cost generation investors submitted by electricity units.

8. To implement the duties related to power supply and demand management, in particular:

a/ To monitor the power demand variations in order to timely propose the solutions for ensuring power supply and demand balance;

b/ To monitor the implementation of generation and transmission expansion projects indicated in the annual list of expansion projects in order to ensure the power development to be in accordance with the approved Master Plan of Power Development;

c/ To propose the solutions to encourage or reduce the generation and transmission expansion investment in order to maintain the power supply and demand balance and the stable, secure, reliable power system operation with appropriate capacity reserve level and least operation cost;

d/ To determine and publish the proportion of PPA contract level to their average annual output for generators in accordance with the power market development stages;

d/ To monitor and analyse the power market price variations together with the power supply and demand relationship in order to propose the timely solutions;

e/ To publish the annual list of generation and transmission expansion projects in accordance with the approved master plan in order to maintain the power supply and demand balance;

g/ To determine the load status of the power grid upon the request from the electricity units.

9. To regulate the competition among the power market participants in accordance with the laws and regulations on competition. To settle the appeals and disputes related to the power market. To propose to the authorities the merge and separation schemes of electricity units in order to ensure the transparent competition in the power market.

10. To design the establishment and development schemes of power market stages. To participate in the development of the power market with foreign countries and cross border power trading.

11. To internationally cooperate in the field of electricity regulation and power market development, in the activities related to regional power grid connection and regional power market development for the GSM and ASEAN countries.

12. To organize the study and application of the scientific and technological advance to the electricity regulation activities.

13. To organize the training and human resource development in order to meet the requirements of the electricity regulation activities and market operation during the development stages of the power market.

14. To make the annual reports on electricity regulation activities and power market operation in accordance with regulations.

15. To use the allocated state budget, received amounts of licence fees, regulation fees and other fees in accordance with laws and regulations.

16. To suspend the electricity activities and to propose the resolution to electricity units and electricity activities participants with behaviours violating the laws and regulations on electricity activities, the conditions for the electricity activities licences to be granted, the principles for electricity tariffs and fees determination, and other regulations related to electricity activities.

17. To relate to other related governmental authorities and organization in accordance with laws and regulations and the Minister's regulation on managerial levels.

18. To require the electricity units to submit the materials, information related to their business activities.

19. To oversee the approved organization and the staff in accordance with regulations; to execute the salary regulations and other regulations and policies for governmental officials within the management scope of the Authority.

20. To execute the other duties assigned by the Minister.

Article 3. Organization and staff

1. Authority's leaders

Authority's leaders consists of Head and Vice Heads of Authority.

Head of Authority is appointed by the Prime Minister, is dismissed according to the Minister's proposal, and is responsible to the Minister, to the laws for all activities of the Authority.

Vice Heads of Authority are appointed by Head of Authority, are dismissed according to the proposals of Head of Authority, and are responsible to laws for the assigned field of activities.

2. Organizations to assist Head of Authority:

a/ Office (consists of organization, planning, administration, accounting);

b/ Legal Department;

c/ Electricity Tariff and Fees Department;

d/ Regulation and Power Market Development Department;

d/ System Planning and Licence Department;

e/ Customer Relation Department;

g/ Information Technology Department;

3. Branches of Authority

a/ Central Region Branch of Electricity Regulatory Authority;

b/ Southern Region Branch of Electricity Regulatory Authority.

4. Organization under the Authority

Center for Power Market Development Studies and Human Resources Training.

5. The staff of the Authority consists of the line and administrative staff.

a/ Line staff consists of Authority's leaders, organizations to assist Head of Authority and Branches of Authority with the total of 90 persons;

b/ Administrative staff consists of 10 persons.

According to the requirements and the duties. Head of Electricity Regulatory Authority annually designs and submits the plan of required staff in accordance with laws and regulations to the Minister for approval.

Article 4. Enforcement

This Decision shall come to effect after 15 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 5. Responsibility for enforcement

Ministers, Heads of Ministerial-level agencies, Heads of Governmental bodies. Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and cities under central authority, and Head of Electricity Regulatory Authority are responsible for the implementation of this Decision.