Installing solar rooftop for a household in the central province of Bình Định's Quy Nhơn City. There were 83,000 rooftop solar power projects connected to the EVN grid. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyên Linh

HÀ NỘI — Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has announced its power companies will stop buying rooftop solar power after December 31, 2020, to wait for further guidance from the Government.

It will also handle requirements for connection and signing power purchase and sales contracts from solar power systems before the deadline.

The EVN said the Prime Minister's Decision No 13/2020/QĐ-TTg dated April 6, 2020, on the mechanism of encouraging the development of solar power in Việt Nam will expire after December 31, 2020. However, there is no new decision and guidance for the implementation of the policy after that date.

The Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority (ERAV) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is working with consulting units to study the models, scale and corresponding electricity purchase and sale prices for each type of rooftop solar power. It is expected the agency will report to the ministry for consideration and submit policies to encourage rooftop solar power for the next period to the PM in the first quarter of 2021.

“For rooftop solar power projects developed after December 31, 2020, electricity units will not record power generated on the grid and buy electricity without a new decision from the PM,” the EVN said.

A representative from the EVN said the group and its member units are committed to supporting the development of renewable energy and rooftop solar power in particular.

As of December 25, there were 83,000 rooftop solar power projects connected to the EVN grid with a total installed capacity of nearly 4,700MWp. The total power generation output to the grid from rooftop solar power projects has reached more than 1.13 billion kWh, contributing to ensuring power supply for the country.

The purchase price of electricity from rooftop solar power projects under the Decision No 13/2020/QĐ-TTg is 8.38 cents per kWh, lasting for 20 years with connection projects, commercial operation before December 31, 2020. This is the highest price among solar power investments, one of the reasons for the massive development of rooftop solar in recent years. — VNS