Energy saving – “Survival” Factor

In combining with development investment on new energy, renewable energy, the “survival” element in the question for current national energy balance is energy savings. Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai presides ...

In combining with development investment on new energy, renewable energy, the “survival” element in the question for current national energy balance is energy savings.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai presides over the meeting. Photo: VGP/Le Tuan

On August 18^th, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai made ​​a request to the Steering Committee for the National Target Program on economical and efficient energy using in the meeting created to review and implement plans in 2014.

According to the Program Steering Committee, the first phase of the program saw a saving of 4.9 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE), equaling 3.4% of total energy consumption, worth 65,000 billion dong based on price oil in 2011. Since 2013, the target approved by Prime Minister is to save 5-8% of total energy consumption, equivalent to 8-11 million TOE in 2015.

Statistics in 2013 shows that the amount of actual power consumption was 115.282 GWh commercial electricity, down by 12.3% over the forecast. Although the Vietnam has an economy in which the factor of macro growth affects consumption demand, the activities of the Program has contributed significantly in reducing the growth rate of the national electricity load.

EVN stated that in 2013 General Electric Corporations had overfulfiled the plan proposed with an electricity saving of 2,799 billion kWh, capturing 141% of plan, saving cost of approximately 3,700 billion.

In the recent year, the Program has developed synchronous operations in depth, creating shifts in improving eventual energy efficiency and covering the deployment to the areas of industrial production, energy-intensive constructions, transport, services, households and propagandizing high efficient means, energy saving.

Besides, the system of legal documents, management network and deployment of activities to economical and efficient energy using, have basically formed. Database system for energy has included some pilot system such as storage system, report analysis, standard norms for some sectors as cement, steel, textile, seafood processing.

The propaganda of information, community mobilization, raising awareness, promoting the economical and efficient energy using and environmental protection have also been enhanced with many forms of mass media, training, creative competitions, exhibitions of products and technology, Earth Hour event, including the content of energy saving into the national education system ...

The program, however, also faces some limits in terms of funding sources, still-low consciousness and awareness on energy saving in households, a number of energy saving projects cope with difficulties when accessing capital, in addition, low energy price is also a big barrier to conduct energy saving measures.

To conclude the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai emphasized, in combining with development investment on new energy, renewable energy, the “survival” element in the question for current national energy balance is energy savings.

Therefore, despite certain changes, the result of policy which urges economical and efficient energy using is still modest compared with the broad objectives of Phase 2.

Accordingly, the Deputy Prime Minister directed to further the contents of the Program, in which, it needs to focus on advocacy, awareness changing on energy saving, shortening in the construction progress of policies, legal documents, the implementation of energy saving projects, particularly in the energy-intensive sectors with low efficiency.

Deputy Prime Minister assigned: "The Ministry of Industry and Trade in coordination with the concerned specific sectors to assess sectors, areas which are the main inefficient energy users; since then, identified main points to give more drastic solutions. At the same time, making comparison of indexes between sectors in the region and in the world to strive towards."