The Hanoi Power Corporation has begun net metering and is issuing registration forms to consumers seeking to sell solar power to it.

In Saigon, which began net metering on Wednesday, at least 49 household and business consumers have signed contracts in the central Districts 1 and 3 at a feed-in tariff of 9.35 cents per kilowatt-hour for 20 years.

That translates into VND2,086 per kWh for those who linked up before January 1, 2018, and were waiting for the word, and VND2,134 for those who linked this year.

From 2020 onwards the price will be fixed annually based on the exchange rate.

Nguyen Tan Hung, chairman of the HCMC Power Corporation, told VnExpress last year that rooftop solar panels can be an effective power solution for most households, but factors like weather and location have to be taken into consideration.

Vietnam relies largely on hydropower and thermal power for its electricity needs, but its hydropower potential is almost fully exploited and oil and gas reserves are running low. Their environmental impacts have also been a concern.

The national electricity development plan envisages power generation reaching 130,000 MW in 2030 from 47,000 MW currently, meaning 83,000 MW would need to be added along with the requisite distribution infrastructure.