Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamtakes the fourth position in the access-to-electricity index in 2019 in theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with 82.2 points, according tothe World Bank’s Doing Business report.

The index was up 0.3 pointcompared to 2018 and ranked 27th out of 190 countries and economies, the Electricityand Renewable Energy Authorityunder the Ministryof Industry and Trade (MoIT) said on May 6.

The access-to-electricity indexis assessed on the criteria, including procedure, time and cost to connect tothe grid, reliability of electricity supply and transparency of electricityprice.

This is the fifth consecutiveyear the ranking of Vietnam has improved. The country gradually improved itsranking on the index in 2013-19 thank to the continuous renewal process andcomprehensive solutions in electricity access. It jumped 129 positions from 156to 27 in the period.

In Vietnam, among 10 criteriaassessing business environment, the access-to-electricity index has been in thegroup of three best indicators (following credit access and constructionlicences). At the same time, the index has the best evaluation score among 10indexes in the country.

The continuous improvement of theindex has affirmed efforts of the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority,Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV) and Electricity of Vietnam(EVN) as well as the Government and the MoIT to bring better quality and servicesin power supply.
 
Factors for evaluation of theaccess-to-electricity index in Vietnam have also improved quickly. The numberof power administrative procedures was reduced from six to four while theworking days to handle the procedures were also shortened from 115 to 31 days.Power supply reliability and transparency of electricity prices have alreadybeen on par with that of developed countries.

The number of procedures in theelectricity industry in Vietnam was similar to the average level of Asia-Pacificand OCED countries. The time for implementing the procedures was much betterthan the above mentioned countries.

However, the cost to connect tothe grid in Vietnam is still high due to the low income per capita. Thereliability of electricity supply and transparency of electricity price weresimilar to the Organisation for EconomicCooperation and Development (OECD) member countries and higher than theAsia-Pacific region.

The MoIT is building proceduresto submit to the Prime Minister for the promulgation of electricity supplymechanism to further improve the index. The mechanism is expected to reduceprocedures and difficulties in accessing power in Vietnam./.