Storage batteries are becoming a standard component of FDI factories for peak shaving and outage backup, but legally a BESS sits on a sensitive boundary: it is a power consumer when charging and a generation source when discharging. Decree 61/2025/ND-CP resolves this boundary with a power licence exemption mechanism by use purpose; this article sets out each case.
Legal basis
- Decree 61/2025/ND-CP guiding the Electricity Law on power operation licensing, Article 21: cases exempt from the power operation licence include generation for self-use without selling power to other organisations or individuals (no capacity limit where not connected to the national grid; capacity under 30 MW where connected) and generation selling to others with capacity under 01 MW; Article 22 prescribes licensing authority for the remaining cases.
- Decree 58/2025/ND-CP (replacing Decree 135/2024/ND-CP) and Decree 243/2026/ND-CP: rooftop solar power for self-production and self-consumption may sell surplus power to the grid at a maximum ratio of 50 percent of output (the original frame of 20 percent, raised to 50 percent from 26 June 2026).
- Law on Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue 55/2024/QH15, Decree 105/2025/ND-CP and Decree 347/2026/ND-CP: fire design, appraisal and acceptance requirements for facilities with lithium battery energy storage systems by scale and facility category under fire management.
Does installing storage batteries at a factory need a licence?
For the most common model — a BESS that charges and discharges only for the internal load of the factory itself, selling no power to others — the system falls within the power operation licence exemption under Article 21 of Decree 61/2025: no capacity limit where the system is not connected to the national grid, and under the 30 MW threshold where connected. Exemption from the power licence does not mean exemption from all procedures: the factory must still agree and meet grid connection technical requirements with the power utility where the system is connected (ensuring no unintended reverse feed, relay protection, power quality), perform construction procedures for the installation items where licensing applies, and in particular complete fire design appraisal for the battery area as prescribed before operation. If the factory uses the BESS to supply power to a third party — including a subsidiary in the same industrial park — the self-use boundary is crossed: the activity becomes generation selling to others, exempt from licensing only where capacity is under 01 MW, and from 01 MW upward a power operation licence for generation is required under the authority at Article 22 of the decree. This is the point rental factory parks most often stumble on when designing intra-park power sharing models.
Can power from storage batteries be sold to the grid?
Under the current regulatory structure, a self-use BESS is not a channel for selling power to the grid: power discharged from the battery serves internal load, and generation selling into the national power system requires the subject to hold a corresponding power operation licence together with a power purchase agreement mechanism with the buyer under the power market framework applying in each period. The only surplus power sale channel currently open broadly behind the meter is rooftop solar for self-production and self-consumption: surplus power may be sold to the grid within the maximum limit of 50 percent of output under Decree 58/2025 and Decree 243/2026 — note this is surplus power of the solar system, not power discharged from storage batteries, and integrating a battery into a rooftop solar system to covertly convert low-price grid power into resold higher-price power departs from the self-production and self-consumption nature and may be refused recognition by the power utility and handled under the power purchase agreement. A factory wanting to run storage and grid balancing services as an independent activity must take the full power project route: power operation licence, connection agreement and power market participation mechanism as prescribed at operation time.
Do lithium storage batteries have fire safety rules?
Yes, and this is the strictest condition group of a factory BESS project. Under the Law on Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue 55/2024 and guiding decrees including Decree 105/2025 and Decree 347/2026, a facility installing a lithium battery storage system falls within fire management scope by scale: the fire design of the battery store item must be appraised and fire-accepted before operation, with specific requirements for lithium battery fire risk — early detection of fire and battery off-gassing, fire spread prevention between battery blocks, a suppression system fitting lithium battery fire characteristics (self-sustaining fire, hard to extinguish with small amounts of ordinary water), safety distances and access routes for firefighting forces. Unlike an ordinary fire, a lithium battery incident has a re-ignition phenomenon after suppression, so the firefighting plan and post-incident monitoring procedure are a mandatory part of the operation file. A factory placing a BESS within an existing campus must reassess the whole facility fire plan because the battery item changes the fire hazard characteristics of the facility, and compulsory fire insurance conditions (Decree 67/2023) may also be separately conditioned by the insurer for the battery area.
What does a BESS investment cost?
There is no State price framework for BESS — cost is market price and changes quickly with battery technology. In structure, investment cost comprises the battery racks and battery management system (BMS), the power conversion system (PCS), dedicated fire protection and cooling systems, construction, connection, and compliance costs (fire design appraisal, equipment inspection). On the market, turnkey pricing for commercial and industrial storage systems is usually quoted per unit of stored energy (USD per kWh) and declines with project scale and by year as world battery prices fall; any reference figure is therefore valid only at quotation time and the enterprise must obtain an actual quotation for the specific configuration (capacity, discharge duration, daily charge-discharge cycles) instead of using one common unit price. The economics of a factory BESS in Vietnam rest mainly on the power price spread between peak and off-peak hours, reduction of charged peak demand, and the value of avoided production outages — the enterprise should compute payback on these three sources plus battery replacement cost over life, rather than expecting grid sale revenue which is not open to the self-use model.
Deployment recommendations for factory BESS
A safe compliance sequence comprises: fixing the use model (pure self-use or supplying others) before design because the model decides the power licence category; working early with the power utility on connection and with the fire authority on battery store design appraisal; and putting the system into operation only after fire acceptance together with a battery incident response procedure. An enterprise planning to sell power or share power within a park should obtain legal advice on licence structure at the concept stage, because changing the model after installation is the most expensive path.
Frequently asked questions
Does installing storage batteries at a factory need a licence?
A BESS serving only internal load and selling no power to others falls within the power operation licence exemption under Article 21 of Decree 61/2025 (no capacity limit if not grid-connected; under 30 MW if connected). Grid connection technical requirements, construction procedures where applicable, and fire appraisal and acceptance for the battery area still apply. Supplying a third party is licence-exempt only under 01 MW.
Can power from storage batteries be sold to the grid?
Not under the self-use model: selling power to the grid requires a power operation licence and a power purchase agreement under the power market framework. The current behind-the-meter surplus sale channel is only for rooftop solar self-production and self-consumption (maximum 50 percent of output under Decrees 58/2025 and 243/2026), being surplus of the solar system, not battery discharge.
Do lithium storage batteries have fire safety rules?
Yes: under Law 55/2024, Decrees 105/2025 and 347/2026, a lithium storage item must undergo fire design appraisal and fire acceptance before operation, with specific requirements on early fire and battery gas detection, fire spread prevention between battery blocks, suppression systems fitting lithium battery fire and re-ignition handling plans. Installing a BESS also changes the fire hazard characteristics of the whole facility, requiring reassessment of the general fire plan.
What does a BESS investment cost?
There is no State price frame; cost is market price by configuration (battery racks and BMS, PCS, dedicated fire protection, connection, compliance), usually quoted in USD per stored kWh and declining by scale and by year. The enterprise must obtain an actual quote for the specific configuration; economics come mainly from peak and off-peak price spread, peak demand reduction and outage avoidance, not from grid sales.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council