Two of Vietnam’s largest data-center operators, CMC and Viettel, have asked ministries to clarify a dispute over electricity pricing that brought their Ho Chi Minh City facilities close to a power cut-off.

The dispute is related to EVN HCMC, the Ho Chi Minh City unit of state utility EVN, re-classifying the data center operators for “business” pricing.

Vietnam has several electricity pricing, with the highest rates for “business” users, then for “household,” “manufacturing,” and “public sector.” Electricity is the biggest single operating cost for data centers, about half of the total costs.

The Ministry of Science and Technology, in a statement sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the change raised data centers’ electricity bills by more than 50 percent.

EVN HCMC then set September 15 to disconnect the two operators over the unpaid amounts tied to the higher rate. The cut-off then did not proceed.

In documents filed on September 11 and September 15, CMC and Viettel asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Technology to clarify. They argued that the power runs only technical systems, such as servers, storage, data processing and cooling, and should pay “manufacturing” rate.

EVN HCMC said it received different instructions for pricing and asked the ministry to clarify.

CMC and Viettel are not alone. Earlier in 2026, a group of operators including VNPT, FPT Telecom, and VNG Data Center made similar appeals.

CMC’s facility in Ho Chi Minh City’s Saigon Hi-Tech Park is part of a hyperscale program approved in 2025, with a first phase costing $250 million and total planned investment near $1 billion under a memorandum with South Korea’s Samsung C&T.

Viettel runs about 230,000 servers and 87 MW of capacity across several cities and is building a campus in Ho Chi Minh City designed for up to 140 MW, aiming for 24 data centers and 560 MW by 2030.

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