Prime Minister calls on public to save electricity

Vietnamese households have been asked to save electricity by only using air conditioners when absolutely necessary and keeping the temperature at 26 degrees Celsius or above.

Under Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's Directive No. 20/CT-TTg regarding energy saving during the 2023-2025 period and subsequent years signed on Thursday, current and future power supplies are facing many challenges while electricity demand is on the rise, so the economical and efficient use of electricity is vital to ensuring energy security.

Households are encouraged to use energy-saving electrical equipment, limit the use of incandescent light bulbs, and turn off electrical devices when leaving the room.

Households have also been encouraged to install rooftop solar panels to serve their needs and use solar water heaters.

The PM requested that during the 2023-2025 period and subsequent years, the country should aim to save at least 2% of total electricity consumption each year, reduce electricity losses across the entire power system to below 6% by 2025, and decrease the peak load capacity of the national power grid through the implementation of the Demand-Side Management (DSM) and Demand Response (DR) programmes by at least 1,500 megawatts by 2025.

By 2030, half of office buildings and residential buildings will be equipped with rooftop solar panels for self-consumption, without selling electricity back to the national power grid. By the end of 2025, the aim is to have all street lighting systems using LEDs.

To that end, ministries, ministry-level and government agencies, people's committees of centrally-run cities and provinces, businesses and mass organisations have been assigned to save electricity in workplaces, public lighting, lighting for advertising purposes and outdoor decorations, households, commercial and service establishments, and manufacturing companies.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has been tasked with launching programs to promote rooftop solar power among businesses and households, as well as promoting the use of energy-saving equipment in households such as air conditioners, refrigerators, LED lights, and washing machines.

Vietnam Electricity (EVN) must optimize operations at its power plants and distribution grids to efficiently utilize primary energy sources and reduce electricity losses throughout its network, the directive said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Tran Viet Hoa, director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the available capacity of all power sources in the northern region, including imported electricity, is 17,500-17,900 megawatts, or about 59.2% of the installed capacity. Meanwhile, the demand is about 20,000 MW and can reach 23,500-24,000 MW in hot weather.

It is estimated that each day Vietnam is short of 30.9 million kWh, and even 50.8 million kWh at peak times. "The risk of power shortages throughout the day is looming," said Hoa.

Facing power shortages, EVN has had to cut off electricity in the north. For example, at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, the power consumption capacity was cut by 3,609 MW, including about 1,423 MW at major industrial parks and 1,264 MW in residential areas.