Vietnam’s state electricity provider, Electricity Vietnam or EVN, recorded a loss in 2023 pf VND 26.77 trillion or US$1.05 billion. The bulk of that loss was made up of interest payments which totalled VND 18.99 trillion or US$747.1 million. This is after a loss in 2022 of VND 20.75 trillion or US$816 million, Tuoi Tre is reporting.
Of note, Retail electricity prices in Vietnam are regulated and, though permitted, price rises are not all that common. This has led to EVN selling electricity below cost price. As of January, it was losing about VND 142.5 per kilowatt-hour sold. This has been ongoing for some time and has led to EVN accumulating the huge aforementioned losses. The issue here seems to be a reluctance to raise electricity prices rather than an inability to do so.
See also: Electricity in Vietnam: Foreign Investor Cheat Sheet 2024