(VOVworld) – A competitive power-generation market has been officially launched with 29 power enterprises submitting their prices offer to the Electric Power Trading Company (EPTC) on Sunday. The move is considered a major step towards a competitive electricity retail market. Twenty-nine power enterprises, including 13 hydro-electric, 11 coal thermal and 5 gas-turbine have a total capacity of about 9,000MW. 20 other power plants are listed as to join the market when they commercialize their products. Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Hoang Quoc Vuong said the move is a preparatory step for the a full competitive power retail market by 2022. He answered the public concerns about whether the power prices will be lower or not: “It’s difficult to have the power prices reduced immediately as our existing prices are being considered cheaper than those of other countries in the region. Power enterprises are in financial difficulties and the market prices may reduce and increase. But in the immediate future, when the competitive power market starts, enterprises will ask for higher prices than the current prices.”

Viet Nam's competitive power generating market will run from now until 2014, followed by the competitive wholesale market until 2020 and a competitive retail market after 2020.