Ho Chi Minh City Provincial Assembly Bill on Utility Pricing Formulas and Household Budget Pressures

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Council bill tracker includes a measure that would revise the formula used to set utility tariffs, directly affecting how much the city's 9 million residents pay each month for electricity and water.

The legislation arises amid national data from the General Statistics Office showing a 4.8 percent rise in the consumer price index for urban households between January and June 2026, with particular pressure on fixed-income families in districts such as Binh Thanh and Thu Duc City.

Daily Costs for Local Households

Under the proposed changes, the average District 7 household using 200 kilowatt hours of electricity monthly would see its bill recalculated using the prior year's citywide median income figure rather than a flat rate increase. Local advocates note that this shift could alter payments by amounts tied to the 2025 city budget paper, which recorded average monthly utility spending at 1.15 million VND per household.

Workers employed in the export processing zones in District 12 would also face knock-on effects, as the bill would require the People's Committee to publish quarterly tariff updates based on the same income-linked index, changing how transport allowances are calculated for shift workers.

Next Steps for Implementation

The assembly is scheduled to review the bill in its August session, after which the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance would issue implementation guidelines expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2027. The legislation states that the Productivity Commission review of similar pricing models in other provinces will inform final adjustments before rollout.

City records indicate that 1.4 million low-income households already registered for existing relief programs would receive priority notification under the new system if the bill advances.