Conflict when converting electricity contracts causes company in Tay Ninh to temporarily stop production

CPF Potash Company (Potash Company) is operating at block D6. 3, Phuoc Dong Port Industrial Park (Tan Lan commune, Tay Ninh province) with more than 50 employees. Previously, the company signed an electricity purchase and sale contract with the local electricity industry and said that it had fulfilled its payment obligations during electricity use. When the power grid system in the industrial park was transferred to Power Development Joint Stock Company 5 (PC5) for management, the parties carried out procedures to change the subject of the electricity purchase and sale contract according to the instructions of functional agencies.

According to the business's reflection, from March 3, 2026, power supply to the plant was interrupted while the two sides were negotiating contract content. The power shortage caused the production line to temporarily stop operating, and many workers had to temporarily stop working. Currently, the business has to use generators to maintain some minimum operations to serve management and import and export of goods.

Regarding the change of subjects of electricity purchase and sale contracts, on February 5, 2026, the Department of Industry and Trade of Tay Ninh province held a meeting with relevant units and agreed that PC5 is the unit licensed to distribute and retail electricity to 22kV voltage at Phuoc Dong Port Industrial Park. It is proposed that the parties coordinate to implement the signing of electricity purchase and sale contracts in accordance with current legal regulations.

According to the conclusion notice of the meeting on April 7, 2026 of the Tay Ninh Provincial Economic Zone Management Board, by the beginning of April 2026, CPF Potash Company and PC5 had not yet agreed on the entire content of the electricity purchase and sale contract after changing the signed entity.

Among them, a content that is still different is the contract term. PC5 proposed a contract term until May 31, 2026 before considering long-term signing, while CPF Potash Company proposed to maintain the same term as the contract previously signed with Tay Ninh Power Company, effective until May 7, 2029 to ensure stable production operations.

At the meeting on April 7, 2026, representatives of Tay Ninh Power Company also said that according to current regulations, electricity purchase and sale contracts can be signed with a maximum term of up to 5 years. Therefore, the proposed plan that the contract term is only extended to May 31, 2026 is considered relatively short and not suitable for the specific production activities of electricity-using enterprises.

In addition, the two sides have not yet agreed on the terms related to stopping power supply in cases where enterprises violate obligations to industrial park infrastructure units. According to the opinion of representatives of the electricity industry at working meetings, the inclusion of content related to obligations to third parties in electricity purchase and sale contracts needs to be considered in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 04/2025/TT-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the order of stopping and reducing power supply levels.

Representatives of the electricity industry said that the electricity purchase and sale contract in this case is a contract for changing the signed subject, not a completely newly signed contract, so it is necessary to ensure inheritance of the rights and obligations previously agreed upon between the enterprise and the electricity supply unit. This content is also recorded in the minutes of the working session on February 12, 2026 between the relevant parties.

The Management Board of Tay Ninh Economic Zone said that the signing of a service supply contract in the industrial park is a civil transaction between businesses. In case the late signing of the contract causes damage, the faulty party must be held responsible according to legal regulations.

According to information from related parties, after the meeting on April 7, 2026, Power Development Joint Stock Company 5 issued a document responding to disagreements with some contents in the meeting conclusion notice.

Currently, the parties are still continuing to exchange to agree on a plan to handle the contents that are still different in the electricity purchase and sale contract according to regulations.

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