Chương IV: Trình tự, thủ tục, thầm quyền cấp mới, cấp sửa đổi, bổ sung, cấp lại, cấp gia hạn và thu hồi giấy phép hoạt động điện lực

DECREE

ELABORATING THE LAW ON ELECTRICITY PERTAINING TO ELECTRICITY LICENSE

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated February 18, 2025;

Pursuant to Law on Electricity dated November 31, 2024;

At the request of the Minister of Industry and Trade;

The Government promulgates Decree elaborating the Law on Electricity pertaining to electricity license.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Decree elaborates some Articles of the Law on Electricity, including:

1. Clause 4 of Article 31 on conditions for issuing electricity licenses.

2. Clause 4 of Article 32 on applications and procedures for issuance of the electricity license.

3. Clause 4 of Article 33 on specific generating capacity under which the electricity license is exempted.

4. Clause 2 of Article 35 on validity period of the electricity license by each activity and in each case of issuance of the electricity license.

5. Clause 3 of Article 36 on revocation of the electricity license; applications and procedures for revocation of the electricity license.

6. Clause 2 of Article 37 on authority to issue electricity licenses in the fields of electricity generation, electricity distribution, electricity wholesaling and electricity retailing of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-affiliated cities (hereinafter referred to as “provincial People’s Committees”).

7. Clause 5 of Article 37 on authority to issue, revise, re-issue, extend and revoke electricity licenses by capacity, voltage level and scope of each electricity activity.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Regulatory bodies issuing, revising, re-issuing, extending and revoking electricity licenses.

2. Organizations participating in the field of electricity in the territory of Vietnam.

3. Other agencies, organizations, and individuals related to electricity activities.

Chapter II

CONDITIONS FOR ISSUING ELECTRICITY LICENSES

Article 3. Conditions for issuing electricity licenses in the field of electricity generation

An organization shall be issued with the electricity license in the field of electricity generation if it fully satisfies the following conditions:

1. It is established legally in accordance with the law, including: an enterprise of all economic types established and operating in accordance with the Law on Enterprise; a cooperative established and operating in accordance with the Law on Cooperatives; or another organization established in accordance with relevant regulations.

2. It has at least 01 technical manager who has least 05 years’ experience in the field of electricity generation and possesses bachelor’s degree in:. electrical engineering, electrical engineering technology, electronics, automation, or other engineering and technology fields.

3. It has at least 04 operators who are trained and tested to meet the requirements for operating power plants according to the provisions of dispatch and operation of national power system; trained and tested to meet the requirements for electrical safety and the following qualifications:

a) He/she has a bachelor's degree or higher in engineering for electricity generation works of a capacity of 30 MW or higher;

b) He/she has a Level 5 of VQF diploma or higher in engineering for electricity generation works of a capacity ranging from 10 MW to 30 MW;

c) He/she has a Level 4 of VQF diploma or higher in engineering for electricity generation works of a capacity of less than 10 MW;

4. It has electricity generation work items or works which conform to the power development planning (hereinafter referred to as “PDP”) and electricity supply network development scheme in the provincial planning, plan to implement PDP, plan to implement provincial planning, including contents of the electricity supply network development scheme and adjustment decisions (if any), except for the case specified in points a and b, Clause 5, Article 10 of the Law on Electricity.

5. It has projects which have investment guidelines decided or approved by competent authorities, except for the cases where the investment guidelines for such projects do not require approval.

6. It has decisions approving the results of the EIA report for projects subject to EIA; environmental license or environmental registration for projects not subject to EIA.

7. It has projects where the land areas/ marine waters are allocated or hired out by the competent authorities.

8. For a hydropower plant: It has hydropower reservoir operation procedures, emergency situation response plan, hydropower dam and reservoir protection plan approved in accordance with regulations of Law on Electricity.

9. It has electricity generation work items or works which have the fire safety acceptance results approved by competent authorities accordance with regulations of Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting.

10. It has electricity generation work items or works which are constructed and installed according to the approved design and meet the conditions for putting work items or works into operation.

11. A organization that has a self-sufficient rooftop solar power system and sells excess electricity to the national grid or sells electricity directly through a separate grid must be issued with certificate of registration of development of rooftop solar power and fully satisfy the following conditions:

a) Any work with an installed capacity of ranging from 1 MW to less than 10 MW must comply with the provisions in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 of this Article.

a) Any work with an installed capacity of ranging of 10 MW or higher must comply with the provisions in Clauses 1 to 7, 9 and 10 of this Article.

Article 4. Conditions for issuing electricity licenses in the field of electricity transmission

An organization shall be issued with the electricity license in the field of electricity transmission if it fully satisfies the following conditions:

1. It is established legally in accordance with the law, including: an enterprise of all economic types established and operating in accordance with the Law on Enterprise; a cooperative established and operating in accordance with the Law on Cooperatives; or another organization established in accordance with relevant regulations

2. It has at least 01 technical manager who has least 05 years’ experience in the field of electricity transmission and possesses bachelor’s degree in: electrical engineering, electrical engineering technology, electronics, automation, or other engineering and technology fields.

3. It is has at least 04 operators who are trained and tested to meet the requirements for operating transmission grid according to the provisions of dispatch and operation of national power system; trained and tested to meet the requirements for electrical safety and the following qualifications:

a) He/she has a bachelor's degree or higher in engineering for a transmission grid of a nominal voltage of 500 kV or higher;

b) He/she has a Level 5 of VQF diploma or higher in engineering for a transmission grid of a nominal voltage of 220 kV;

4. It has electricity transmission work items or works which conform to the PDP, plans to implement PDP and adjustment decisions (if any).

5. It has projects which have the investment guidelines decided or approved by competent authorities, except for the cases where the investment guidelines for such projects do not require approval

6. It has decisions approving the results of the EIA report for projects subject to EIA; environmental license or environmental registration for projects not subject to EIA.

7. It has projects where the land areas/ marine waters are allocated or hired out by the competent authorities.

8. It has electricity transmission work items or works which have the fire safety acceptance results approved by competent authorities accordance with regulations of Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting.

9. It has electricity transmission work items or works which are constructed and installed according to the approved design and meet the conditions for putting work items or works into operation.

Article 5. Conditions for issuing electricity licenses in the field of electricity distribution

An organization shall be issued with the electricity license in the field of electricity distribution if it fully satisfies the following conditions:

1. It is established legally in accordance with the law, including: an enterprise of all economic types established and operating in accordance with the Law on Enterprise; a cooperative established and operating in accordance with the Law on Cooperatives; or another organization established in accordance with relevant regulations

2. It has at least 01 technical manager who has least 03 years’ experience in the field of electricity distribution and obtains bachelor’s degree in: electrical engineering, electrical engineering technology, electronics, automation, or other engineering and technology fields. electrical engineering, electrical engineering technology, electronics, automation, or other engineering and technology fields.

3. It has at least 04 operators who meet the requirements as follows:

a) He/she has a Level 4 of VQF diploma or higher in engineering;

b) He/she is trained and tested to meet the requirements for operating distribution grid according to the provisions of dispatch and operation of national power system; trained and tested to meet the requirements for electrical safety and the following qualifications.

4. It has electricity distribution work items or works which conform to the electricity supply network development scheme in the provincial planning, plan to implement provincial planning, including contents of the electricity supply network development scheme and adjustment decisions (if any), except for the case specified in point c, Clause 5, Article 10 of the Law on Electricity.

5. It has electricity distribution grid scheme which has the investment guidelines decided or approved by competent authorities or is under the list of low-voltage or medium-voltage electrical grid approved by a provincial People's Committee as stipulated in point a, Clause 3, Article 13 of Law on Electricity, except for the cases where the investment guidelines do not require approval.

6. It has projects where the land areas/ marine waters are allocated or hired out by the competent authorities.

7. It has electricity distribution work items or works which have the fire safety acceptance results approved by competent authorities accordance with regulations of Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting.

8. It has electricity distribution work items or works which are constructed and installed according to the approved design and meet the conditions for putting work items or works into operation.

Article 6. Conditions for issuing electricity licenses in the field of electricity wholesaling

An organization shall be issued with the electricity license in the field of electricity wholesaling if it fully satisfies the following conditions:

1. It is established legally in accordance with the law, including: an enterprise of all economic types established and operating in accordance with the Law on Enterprise; a cooperative established and operating in accordance with the Law on Cooperatives; or another organization established in accordance with relevant regulations

2. It has a plan for electricity wholesaling.

3. It has at least 01 manager who has least 05 years’ experience in the field of electricity wholesaling and obtains bachelor’s degree in: technology, electrical engineering, economics, finance, or another relevant field.

Article 7. Conditions for issuing electricity licenses in the field of electricity retailing

An organization shall be issued with the electricity license in the field of electricity retailing if it fully satisfies the following conditions:

1. It is established legally in accordance with the law, including: an enterprise of all economic types established and operating in accordance with the Law on Enterprise; a cooperative established and operating in accordance with the Law on Cooperatives; or another organization established in accordance with relevant regulations

2. It has a plan for electricity retailing.

3. It has at least 01 manager who has least 03 years’ experience in the field of electricity retailing and obtains bachelor’s degree in: technology, electrical engineering, economics, finance, or another relevant field.

Chapter III

APPLICATIONS FOR ISSUANCE, REVISION, RE-ISSUANCE, AND EXTENSION OF ELECTRICITY LICENSE

Article 8. Application for issuance of the electricity license in the field of electricity generation

1. An application form for issuance of the electricity license made using Form No. 01 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

2. The enterprise registration certificate; cooperative registration certificate; or decision of establishment (in case of unavailability of the enterprise registration certificate) of the applicant.

3. The list of technical managers and operators made using Form No. 02 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

4. The dossier on the technical manager includes: A bachelor’s degree or higher; a work experience declaration in the field of electricity generation (confirmed by the employer) made using Form No. 03 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;

5. The dossier on the operator includes:

a) A degree; a power plant operation certificate; an electrical safety card;

b) An employment contract with the power plant management and operation unit.

6. The written approval for PDP, the plan to implement PDP and adjustment decisions (if any) of the projects requested for licensing.

7. The written investment guideline approval or investment registration certificate, the written investment guideline approval according to regulations.

8. The decision approving the results of the EIA report for projects subject to EIA; the environmental license or environmental registration for projects not subject to EIA.

9. The written investment project approval, the decision approving the technical design or decision approving the drawing design in the case of a two-step design; the written appraisal of construction design implementing after the basic design (for works subject to design approval according to regulations).

10. Record on acceptance of completed work items or works for putting into operation.

11. The written appraisal of acceptance results of work items or works subject to acceptance result inspection of competent authorities.

12. Documents for the allocation or hire of land, land covered by waters, and marine waters for carrying out projects of competent authorities.

13. The written approval of acceptance results of fire prevention and fighting.

14. For a hydropower plant: the application includes hydropower reservoir operation procedures, emergency situation response plan, hydropower dam and reservoir protection plan approved in accordance with regulations of Law on Electricity.

15. In case of a self-sufficient rooftop solar power system and sells excess electricity to the national grid or sells electricity directly through a separate grid, the application includes:

a) Documents specified in Clauses 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13 of this Article for works with an installed capacity of ranging from 1 MW to less than 10 MW.

b) Documents specified in Clauses 1 to 13 of this Article for works with an installed capacity of ranging of 10 MW or higher.

c) A certificate of registration of development of rooftop solar power.

16. In case of receiving a power plant invested in the form of public-private partnership (PPP) under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract: Documents regarding the transfer of asset; written declaration of the applicant stating that the contents of the licenses pecified in clauses 2, 3 and 4 Article 34 of the Law on Electricity are the same as those of the issued license.

Article 9. Application for issuance of the electricity licenses in the field of electricity transmission

1. 1. An application for for issuance of the electricity license according to Form No. 01 in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

2. The enterprise registration certificate; cooperative registration certificate; or decision of establishment (for organizations without a business registration certificate) of the applicant.

3. The list of technical managers and operators according to Form No. 02 in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

4. The dossier on the technical manager includes: A bachelor’s degree or higher; a work experience declaration in the field of electricity transmission (confirmed by the employer) made using Form No. 03 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;

5. The dossier on the operator includes:

a) A degree; an electrical substation operation certificate by voltage level; an electrical safety card;

b) An employment contract with the electricity transmission grid management and operation unit.

6. The written approval for PDP, the plan to implement PDP and adjustment decisions (if any) of the projects requested for licensing.

7. The written investment guideline approval or investment registration certificate, written investment guideline approval according to regulations.

8. The decision approving the results of the EIA report for projects subject to EIA; the environmental license or environmental registration for projects not subject to EIA.

9. The written investment project approval, the decision approving the technical design or decision approving the drawing design in the case of a two-step design; the written appraisal of construction design implementing after the basic design for works subject to such design approval according to regulations; the site plan of electricity transmission works.

10. The record on acceptance of completed work items or works for putting into operation.

11. The written appraisal of acceptance results of work items or works subject to acceptance result inspection by competent authorities.

12. Documents for the allocation or hire of land, land covered by waters, and marine waters for carrying out projects of competent authorities.

13. The written approval of acceptance results of fire prevention and fighting.

14. In case of purchase, acquisition or transfer of assets of an electrical grid, an asset transfer record is required,. In cases where the an asset of the electrical grid is jointly owned by multiple investors, there shall be a written document showing that the owners have agreed on or authorized a unit to manage and operate such asset.

Article 10. Application for issuance of the electricity licenses in the field of electricity distribution

1. An application form for issuance of the electricity license according to Form No. 01 in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

2. The enterprise registration certificate; cooperative registration certificate; or decision of establishment (for organizations without a business registration certificate) of the applicant.

3. The list of technical managers and operators according to Form No. 02 in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

4. The dossier on the technical manager includes: A bachelor’s degree or higher; a work experience declaration in the field of electricity distribution or transmission (confirmed by the employer) made using Form No. 03 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;

5. The dossier on the operator includes:

a) A degree; an electrical substation operation certificate by voltage level; an electrical safety card;

b) An employment contract with the distribution grid management and operation unit.

6. The written approval of electricity supply network development scheme in the provincial planning, the plan to implement provincial planning including contents of the electricity supply network development scheme, and adjustment decisions (if any) of projects requested for licensing.

7. The investment registration certificates or written investment guideline approval according to the regulations or the list of low-voltage and medium-voltage electrical grids approved by the provincial People's Committee according to the provisions of point a, Clause 3, Article 13 of the Law on Electricity.

8. The written investment project approval, the decision approving the technical design or decision approving the drawing design in the case of a two-step design; the written appraisal of construction design implementing after the basic design for works subject to such design approval according to regulations; the site plan of electricity distribution works.

9. The record on acceptance of completed work items or works for putting into operation.

10. The written appraisal of acceptance results of work items or works subject to acceptance result inspection by competent authorities.

11. Documents for the allocation or hire of land, land covered by waters, and marine waters for carrying out projects of competent authorities (if any) or written agreement on the route direction of the distribution grid.

12. The written agreement on the connection to the national power system according to regulations.

13. The written approval of acceptance results of fire prevention and fighting.

14. In case of purchase, acquisition or transfer of assets of an electrical grid, an asset transfer record is required. In cases where the an asset of the electrical grid is jointly owned by multiple investors, there shall be a written document showing that the owners have agreed on or authorized a unit to manage and operate such asset.

Article 11. Application for issuance of the electricity licenses in the field of electricity wholesaling

1. An application form for issuance of the electricity license according to Form No. 01 in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

2. The enterprise registration certificate; cooperative registration certificate; or decision of establishment (for organizations without a business registration certificate) of the applicant.

3. The list of wholesaling managers according to Form No. 02 in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

4. The dossier on the manager includes: A bachelor’s degree or higher; a work experience declaration in the field of electricity trading (confirmed by the employer) made using Form No. 03 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;

5. The electricity wholesaling plan made using Form No. 04 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

Article 12. Application for issuance of the electricity licenses in the field of electricity retailing

1. An application for form issuance of the electricity license according to Form No. 01 in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

2. The enterprise registration certificate; cooperative registration certificate; or decision of establishment (for organizations without a business registration certificate) of the applicant.

3. The list of retailing managers made using Form No. 02 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

4. The dossier on the manager includes: A bachelor’s degree or higher; a work experience declaration in the field of electricity trading (confirmed by the employer) made using Form No. 03 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;

5. The electricity retailing plan made using Form No. 04 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

Article 13. Application for revision of the electricity license

1. For the cases where an electricity license has to be revised according to point a, Clause 2, Article 32 of the Law on Electricity, the application includes:

An application form for revision of the electricity license according to Form No. 01 in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

The enterprise registration certificate; cooperative registration certificate; or decision of establishment (for organizations without a business registration certificate) of the applicant.

c) In cases of changing the name of the licensed organization due to project transfer, division, or acquisition of the organization, in addition to the documents specified in points a and b of this clause, the organization must provide documents proving the transfer of assets; documents regarding the organization separation, acquisition and the transfer of technical managers, business managers, and operators; or documents regarding the transfer of technical managers, business managers, and operators corresponding to the electricity sector as stipulated in clauses 3, 4, and 5 of Article 8; clauses 3, 4, and 5 of Article 9; clauses 3, 4, and 5 of Article 10; clauses 3 and 4 of Article 11; and clauses 3 and 4 of Article 12 of this Decree.

2. For the cases where an electricity license has to be revised according to point b, Clause 2, Article 32 of the Law on Electricity, the application includes:

a) Request of competent authorities;

b) Documents related to the request to revise the electricity license in case it is needed to protect the national defense or national security interests, socio - economic interests or public interests.

3. For the cases where an electricity license has to be revised according to point c, Clause 2, Article 32 of the Law on Electricity, the application includes:

a) An application form for revision of the electricity license ;

d) Documents related to the errors in the issued electricity license.

Article 14. Application for re-issuance of the electricity license in the case specified in Point a, Clause 3, Article 32 of the Law on Electricity

1. An application form for re-issuance of the electricity license according to Form No. 01 in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

2. The enterprise registration certificate; cooperative registration certificate; or decision of establishment (for organizations without a business registration certificate) of the applicant.

3. A written commitment of the license holder to take responsibility for the loss of the electricity license where the license is lost.

4. The original of the electricity license (in case of reissuance of a damaged license).

Article 15. Application for re-issuance of the electricity license in the case specified in Points b and c, Clause 3, Article 32 of the Law on Electricity

1. An application form for re-issuance of the electricity license made using Form No. 01 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

2. The report on maintaining electricity operation conditions as of the time of applying for the reissuance of the license for the corresponding sector made using Form No. 05a, Form No. 05b, and Form No. 05c provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith

3. The written declaration of the applicant stating that the contents of the licenses pecified in clauses 2, 3 and 4 Article 34 of the Law on Electricity are the same as those of the issued license.

4. In addition to the documents specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article, the application for reissuance of the electricity license includes:

a) Documents specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Article 8 of this Decree in the field of electricity generation;

b) Documents specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Article 9 of this Decree in the field of electricity transmission;

c) Documents specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Article 10 of this Decree in the field of electricity distribution;

d) Documents specified in Clauses 2, 3 and 4 of Article 11 of this Decree in the field of electricity wholesaling;

dd) Documents specified in Clauses 2, 3 and 4 of Article 12 of this Decree in the field of electricity retailing;

5. 5. In the case specified in Point c, Clause 3, Article 32 of the Law on Electricity, the application includes documents specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Article and documents proving the fulfillment of responsibilities and obligations according to regulations.

6. In cases where the validity period of the electricity license is in accordance with Point b and Point c, Clause 4, Article 20 of this Decree, when applying for the re-issuance of the electricity license, the application for each fields shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of this Decree.

Article 16. Application for extension of the electricity license

1. An application form for extension of the electricity license made using Form No. 01 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

2. The enterprise registration certificate; cooperative registration certificate; or decision of establishment (for organizations without a business registration certificate) of the applicant.

3. Documents regarding the transfer of assets, electricity works, or the termination of the project.

4. Reports on maintaining electricity operation conditions as of the time of applying for the reissuance of the license for the corresponding sector made using Form No. 05a, Form No. 05b, and Form No. 05c provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

Article 17. Format of application for the issuance of the electricity license

The organization applying for the issuance, revision, re-issuance, or extension of the licenses hall submit 01 application to the competent authority and shall the accuracy and truthfulness of the application.

In the case where the license is issued to multiple organizations participating in the same electricity field, one of them shall be authorized in writing to apply for the electricity license .

In cases where an organization hires, assigns, or authorizes another organization to manage operations, the former shall provide the contract or documents about this.

Submission methods:

a) Applications for issuance of the electricity licenses by the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall be submitted via online public service portal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In cases where documents are not submitted electronically according to regulations, they shall be sent in person or by post.

b) Applications for issuance of the electricity license by the Provincial People's Committee shall be submitted in person, by post, or via online public service portal of the competent authority (if any);

c) Documents submitted electronically are electronic copies of the originals. Documents submitted in person are copies or originals.

5. The electricity license is issued in 03 original copies: 01 copy is delivered to the license holder and 02 copies are kept by the licensing authority. The provincial People's Committee shall send 01 copy of the electricity license to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for monitoring and inspection as required.

Chapter IV

PROCEDURES AND AUTHORITY OF ISSUANCE, REVISION, RE-ISSUANCE, EXTENSION, AND REVOCATION OF ELECTRICITY LICENSE

Article 18. Procedures for issuance, revision, re-issuance, extension, and revocation of the electricity license

1. Within 03 business days from the receipt of the application for electricity license or supplementary documents, the licensing authority shall examine the adequacy and legitimacy of the application according to the provisions of Chapter III of this Decree and as follows:

a) In cases where the application is satisfactory, follow the procedures specified in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article;

b) In cases where the application is unsatisfactory, send a request for supplementary documents to the applicant;

c) In cases where the application for the electricity license is is rejected because it is unsatisfactory or outside of the jurisdiction of the receiving authority, notify the applicant and provide explanation.

2. In case of issuance of a new license, within 14 days from the receipt of the satisfactory application, the licensing authority shall:

a) verifying the application according to requirements for issuance of the electricity license specified in Article 31 of the Law on Electricity and Chapter II of this Decree; assessing the application in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of this Decree and notifying the applicant of the fees for verification; if necessary, sending written request for opinions from relevant authorities and organizations and conducting on-site inspections at the electricity work.

b) In cases where the application is satisfactory, follow the procedures specified in Clause 5 of this Article

c) In cases where one of the conditions is not met, reject the application, notify the applicant and provide explanation.

3. In cases of revision, re-issuance, and extension of the electricity license , within 10 days from the receipt of the satisfactory application, follow the procedures specified in points a, b, and c of Clause 2 of this Article.

4. If the application is complicated, the licensing authority may extend the verification period specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article but no longer than 10 days, notify the applicant, and provide explanation. The written response must be given before the time limit specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article.

5. In cases where the fee for verification of the electricity license has been paid, the issuance of the electricity license shall be carried out within the time limit specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article.

6. In case where the applicant fails to submit supplementary documents within 30 days from the request of supplementation; or fails to pay the fee for verification within 5 days from the receipt of the first notification, the licensing authority has the right to reject the application.

Article 19. Contents of the assessment and verification of an application for issuance of the electricity license

1. An application for electricity license is considered satisfactory when it meets all the following requirements:

a) The application is adequate according to the regulations;

b) Documents in the application have adequate content and correct form (if any);

c) The organization applies for an intra-vires licensing and is subject to electricity license issuance; the application is submitted to the competent authority as prescribed.

d) The application meet the requirements specified in clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Article 17 of this Decree.

2. Verification contents of an application for the first-time issuance of the electricity license include:

a) The consistency of the name and address of the organization between the application and the enterprise registration;

b) The suitability of the quantity, expertise, qualifications, and work experience of technical managers, business managers, and operators in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

b) The compatibility and consistency of name, projects, investors, capacity scale, and voltage level in documents related to acceptance, design, investment, and planning;

d) The compatibility and consistency of main specifications and technologies of work items and works between acceptance documents and designs.

dd) The adequacy of contents and documents providing evidence enclosed with the electricity wholesaling or retailing scheme.

e) The consistency of locations for execution of the project between related documents and documents for the allocation or hire of land, land covered by waters, and marine waters of competent authorities.

g) The authority for appraisal and approval and contents of documents and records for issuance of license.

3. In the cases where the licensed organization changes its name due to project transfer, division, or acquisition of the organization, contents specified in points a, b, and g of Clause 2 of this Article shall be verified.

4. In cases of license issuance according to the provisions of Clauses 2 and 4 of Article 32 of the Law on Electricity, the contents specified in points b, c, d, dd, and e of Clause 2 of this Article shall not be re-verified, except in the cases specified in Clause 3 of this Article.

5. In cases of license issuance according to the provisions of point b of Clause 3 of Article 32 of the Law on Electricity, contents specified in points c, d, dd, and e of Clause 2 of this Article shall not be re-verified, except in the cases specified in Clause 3 of this Article, Clause 6 of Article 15, and Clause 2 of Article 27 of this Decree.

Article 20. Validity period of the electricity license

1. The validity period of the electricity license is regulated as follows:

a) The validity period of the electricity license in the fields of electricity generation and electricity transmission is 20 years;

b) The validity period of the electricity license in the fields of electricity distribution, electricity wholesaling, and electricity retailing is 10 years.

2. The expiry dates of reissued electricity licenses are the same as those of the old licenses in the cases specified in Clause 2 and points a and c of Clause 3 of Article 32 of the Law on Electricity.

3. The validity period of the electricity license may be extended but shall not exceed the time of transfer of assets and electricity works, or the time of project termination.

4. Cases in which the electricity license is issued with a shorter validity period than the period specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

a) The remaining operational period of projects, electricity generation works, electricity transmission works, and electricity distribution works is shorter than the validity period specified in Clause 1 of this Article, issued according to the remaining operational period of projects, electricity generation works, electricity transmission works.

b) In cases where a work items or works are subject to conditional acceptance before putting the work items or works into operation; or a constituent of the works which is completed and meets the conditions into temporary operation in accordance with the construction law;

c) According to actual conditions of electricity work items, electricity wholesaling and retailing schemes, the licensing authority may issue electricity licenses with a shorter validity period than the period specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

d) Is the organization proposes a shorter validity period than the period specified in Clauses 1 and 3 of this Article, the licenses hall be issued according to the proposed validity period, except for cases specified in points a, b, and c of this clause.

Article 21. Generating capacity under which the electricity license is exempted

1. For any self-sufficient electricity generation work which does not sell electricity to other organizations or individuals:

a) There is no upper limit on the generating capacity scale for the project that is not connected to the national power system.

b) The installed capacity is below 30 MW for the project connected to the national power system.

2. Any organization generating electricity with an installed capacity under 01 MW and selling electricity to other organizations or individuals is exempted from an electricity license.

3. Any organization trading in electricity in rural areas or mountainous areas or on islands and buying electricity with a capacity under 100 kVA from the distribution grid to sell it directly to electricity consumers in rural areas or mountainous areas or on islands is exempted from an electricity license.

Article 22. Authority to issue electricity licenses

1. The Electricity Authority, by authorization of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, shall issue electricity licenses in the following cases:

a) Electricity generation activities of nuclear power plants, offshore wind power plants, power plants located in at least 02 provinces, regardless of the capacity, and power plants with capacities according to approved schemes or approved plans to implement schemes as follows: 50 MW or higher for inshore and onshore wind power plants, solar power plants; 15 MW or higher for waste-to-energy plants, biomass power plants; 05 MW or higher for other power sources, excluding the rooftop solar power sources;

b) Electricity transmission activities;

c) Any electricity distribution project that spans across at least 02 provinces or with a voltage level of at least 110 kV;

c) Electricity wholesaling or retailing activities in at least 02 provinces or with a voltage level of at least 22 kV;

dd) The applicant in multiple fields, including fields by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and provincial People's Committees;

e) Electricity wholesaling or retailing activities with competitive market scope in at least 02 provinces.

2. Except for the cases stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, provincial People's Committees or their authorized agencies may issue electricity licenses in the following cases:

a) Electricity generation activities with a capacity according to the approved planning or plan to implement a planning below: under 50 MW for inshore and onshore wind power plants, solar power plants; under 15 MW for waste-to-energy plants, biomass power plants; under 05 MW for other power sources, excluding the rooftop solar power sources;

b) Electricity distribution activities with a voltage level under 110 kV;

c) Electricity wholesaling or retailing activities with a voltage level under 22 kV.

3. The licensing authorities as stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article have the right to revise, re-issue, extend and revoke the electricity licenses they issued.

Article 23. Revocation of the electricity licenses

1. An organization shall have its electricity license revoked in the following cases:

a) The cases stipulated in points a, c, d, and e of Clause 1 of Article 36 of the Law on Electricity;

b) It fails to satisfy the conditions for conduct of the licensed electricity licenses tipulated in Clauses 2, 3, and 6 of Article 3; Clauses 2, 3, and 6 of Article 4; Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 5; Clause 3 of Article 6; Clause 3 of Article 7 of this Decree.

2. An application for revocation of the electricity licenses includes:

a) An application form for the revocation of the electricity license in the case specified in Point a, Clause 1, Article 36 of the Law on Electricity;

b) Documents of the competent authorities serve as the basis for determining the revocation of the electricity licenses in the case specified in points b, c, d, and e of Clause 1 of Article 36 of the Law on Electricity.

3. Procedures for revocation of the electricity licenses are prescribed as follows:

a) Within 10 days after it is determined that the electricity license has to be revoked as specified in clause 1 of this Article, the competent authority shall consider and issue a decision to revoke the electricity license made using Form No. 06 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;

b) Within 5 working days from the the date of issuing the decision to revoke the electricity license, the competent authority shall send such decision to the license holder, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the provincial People's Committees where the organization is registered and/or conducts electricity activities, and related electric utilities;

c) Within 5 working days from the receipt of decision to revoke the electricity license, the license holder shall return the original electricity license to the revoking authority.

4. An organization that has its electricity license revoked has the responsibility to:

a) ensure the safety of works, work items during the period of revocation of its electricity license.

b) maintain operation as requested by the competent authorities to ensure security in electricity supply when necessary.

c) maintain electricity supply to customers while re-issuance of the electricity license is being considered.

Article 24. Responsibilities of licensing authorities

1. Receive, appraise, inspect, and manage applications for issuance or revocation of the electricity licenses under their authority.

2. Handle complaints and reports regarding electricity licenses under their authority.

3. Inspect the maintenance of conditions for conduct of the licensed electricity activities.

4. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall inspect the licensing authorities and organizations participating in electricity activities in the fulfillment of conditions for issuing, revising, re-issuing, extending, and revoking electricity licenses prescribed in the Law on Electricity and this Decree.

5. Provincial People's Committees shall inspect organizations issued with electricity licenses by provincial People's Committees regarding to the maintenance of conditions for conduct of the licensed electricity license prescribed in the Law on Electricity and this Decree.

6. Before March 01 every year, provincial People's Committees shall report the issuance of electricity licenses in their provinces in the previous year to the Ministry of Industry and Trade using Form No. 07 provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

Article 25. Responsibilities of organizations issued with electricity licenses

1. Perform obligations prescribed in Clause 2, Article 58 of the Law on Electricity and other obligations as prescribed by law.

2. Carry out the procedures for revision of the issued license within 30 days from the change of the name or registered business address in the enterprise registration certificate; cooperative registration certificate; or decision of establishment (in case of unavailability of the enterprise registration certificate) written on the issued electricity license.

3. Carry out the procedures for revision of the issued license in case where any electricity activity is removed from the issued license or there is any error in the information written on the issued license.

4. Pay the fee for issuance of the electricity licenses within 10 days from the date of fee notification by the licensing authority.

5. Facilitate inspections; comply with the decisions of competent authorities regarding the use of the electricity licenses; and comply with the conditions for electricity operation as prescribed by law.

6. Retain the original electricity license at the head office of electric utility and and copies of the electricity license at transaction offices

7. Reporting responsibility is provided for as follows:

a) Before March 01 every year, organizations issued with electricity licenses, or the operating and managing units, shall make an annual report on performance of licensed operations in the previous year using Form No. 05a, 05b and 05c provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith; then send the report in person or by post to the licensing authorities and the People's Committee of the province where the organization operates.

b) Submit reports and provide satisfactory information at the request of a competent authority or the licensing authority.

8. Responsibility for managing and operating power plants, works for electricity transmission and distribution in case of leasing out power plants, or hiring or assigning external operators is provided for as follows:

a) Investors of power plants, electricity transmission and distribution works shall bear responsibility for obligations related to the process of investment and operation of power plants, electricity transmission and distribution works in accordance with regulations..

b) The lessees, the units hired or authorized to operate power plants, electricity transmission and distribution works shall bear responsibility for fulfilling all obligations related to the operation of power plants, electricity transmission and distribution works in accordance with regulations.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSE

Article 26. Effect

1. This Decree comes into force from the date on which it is signed.

2. The Article 29 to Article 47 of Government’s Decree No. 137/2013/ND-CP dated October 21, 2013, on the implementation of some provisions of the Law on Electricity and the Law on amendments to some Articles of the Law on Electricity according to Government’s Decree No. 08/2018/ND-CP dated January 15, 2018, and Government’s Decree No. 17/2020/ND-CP dated February 5, 2020 (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 137/2013/ND-CP), shall cease to have effect.

3. In case where an electricity license is revised due to changes in the name, headquarters address, and transfer of assets of the utility issued with the electricity license, the existing licenses hall remain valid until a new license is issued.

Article 27. Transitional clauses

1. Any electric utility which is issued with an electricity license in the field of electricity transmission or electricity distribution before the effective date of this Decree may conduct the licensed electricity activities until the expiry of such electricity license within the scope of managing and operating the electricity grid that has been accepted before the effective date of this Decree. In cases where the transmission and distribution grid projects have not been accepted before the effective date of this Decree, regulations stipulated in this Decree shall apply.

2. When applying for reissuance of an electricity license that is issued before the effective date of this Decree and has a shorter validity period than the maximum period specified in the guiding documents of the Law on Electricity No. 28/2004/QH11, the application shall be respectively prepared in accordance with the provisions of Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of this Decree, except for electricity generation projects that have been granted a license and have operated for 10 years or more.

3. In the cases where an organization has submitted an satisfactory application for revision of its electricity license to the licensing authority before the effective date of this Decree but have not yet been granted the revised electricity license, the provisions of Government’s Decree No. 137/2013/ND-CP dated October 21, 2013, and its guiding documents shall apply for the issuance of the revised license.

4. The licensing authorities stipulated in Article 22 of this Decree have the right to revise, re-issue, extend and revoke electricity licenses they issued before the effective date of this Decree.

Article 28. Responsibility for implementation

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and Governmental agencies, Presidents of provincial People’s Committees, other relevant organizations and individuals are responsible for implementation of this Decree.