MOIT Circular 66/2025: New Energy Bidding Standards

MOIT Amends Bidding Standards for Energy Projects

Circular 66/2025/TT-BCT, recently issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), comprehensively amends criteria for evaluating bid dossiers when selecting investors for energy projects.

Clarifying Bidding Authority On December 31, 2025, MOIT issued Circular No. 66/2025/TT-BCT, amending and supplementing several articles of Circular No. 27/2024/TT-BCT regarding standards for evaluating bid dossiers and bidding dossier forms for selecting investors to implement power projects.

The Circular takes effect from January 15, 2026, marking an important adjustment in the legal framework for bidding on power projects, aligning with the Bidding Law, the Electricity Law, and recently issued guiding decrees.

The Circular amends and supplements regulations on entities participating in the process of inviting interest and bidding. Accordingly:

• Parties inviting interest: Include not only agencies/units under MOIT or Provincial People’s Committees (PPC) but also Economic Zone Management Boards and Commune-level People’s Committees (assigned to implement procedures for projects under their management).
• Deciding Authorities: The agencies deciding to organize bidding are clearly defined as MOIT, Provincial People’s Committees, or Economic Zone Management Boards.

Conversely, several unsuitable regulations have been abolished to streamline procedures, reduce formalistic requirements, and facilitate both management agencies and investors.

Stricter Financial Capacity Standards The most significant highlight of Circular 66/2025/TT-BCT lies in the amendment of criteria for evaluating investor capacity, especially financial capacity.

• Minimum Equity: According to new regulations, the minimum equity that investors must arrange to participate in power projects must not be lower than 15% of the total investment. This requirement is applied throughout from the “invitation to interest” stage to the evaluation of bid dossiers, aiming to screen out investors lacking financial capacity and limit projects from being delayed or unimplemented.
• Capital Verification: Equity is determined based on audited financial statements or contributed charter capital for newly established enterprises.
• Multiple Projects: In case an investor participates in multiple projects simultaneously, they must fully declare the list of ongoing investment projects and ensure sufficient equity sources for all commitments.

For Consortium Investors (Joint Ventures):

• Total equity is calculated by the sum of the members’ capital.
• Lead Member: Must contribute a minimum of 30%.
• Other Members: Must contribute a minimum of 15% each. This regulation aims to increase the responsibility of each member and avoid “shell” consortiums.

Along with equity, the Circular requires investors to prove their ability to mobilize loan capital through funding commitments from banks or credit institutions, ensuring the project’s financial feasibility.

Increased Penalties and Violation Handling Besides raising selection criteria, Circular 66/2025/TT-BCT dedicates significant scope to perfecting the mechanism for handling violations in power project bidding. Violations of bidding laws, depending on their nature and severity, may face disciplinary action, administrative penalties, criminal prosecution, and damage compensation.

Bidding Bans:

• The time ban on participating in bidding activities is specifically regulated from 6 months to 5 years, depending on the violation.
• Serious Violations: For acts such as collusion, fraud, or obstruction of bidding, organizations or individuals may be banned for up to 5 years.
• Statute of Limitations: The statute of limitations for applying the ban is 10 years from the date the violation occurred.

For Consortium Investors, the Circular clearly distinguishes cases where only the violating member is banned versus cases where the entire consortium is banned, ensuring deterrence while maintaining fairness.

The authority to issue decisions banning bidding participation belongs to MOIT or Provincial People’s Committees, with a consideration and decision period of 15 days from receiving full dossiers and documents determining the violation behavior.

Social and Efficiency Evaluation Criteria Circular 66/2025/TT-BCT also supplements and perfects criteria for evaluating social impact and power sector development efficiency.

• Social Criteria: Investors must explain plans for compensation, support, and resettlement, and commit to advancing funds in case the project requires land recovery. Content regarding job creation, local labor training, and social welfare contributions are also included in evaluation criteria.
• Efficiency Criteria:
  • Projects with MOIT Price Frame: Efficiency is evaluated through the winning bid electricity price and the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) negotiation process.
  • Projects without Price Frame: Efficiency criteria are determined by the annual state budget contribution value proposed by the investor, independent of other financial obligations.