Cities turn off lights to save electricity

Lighting and decorative lights of the headquarters of agencies around Hoan Kiem Lake ( Hanoi ), Hai Phong Opera House, or Dragon Bridge (Da Nang) are all being reduced to the maximum.

At 7pm on June 1, the street lights on the central streets of Hanoi started to turn on, 30 minutes later than usual. All decorative lights and advertisements mounted on the street lights were turned off. Some routes such as Le Van Luong turned off all the street lights, only lighting at intersections. Routes with 4 light lanes such as Pham Van Dong and Vo Van Kiet turned off 1/3 of the lights from early evening and after 11pm, the remaining 1/3 were turned off.

In the area around Hoan Kiem Lake, every 3-4 light poles, one is off. The lighting system of flower gardens, sidewalks and around the lake is almost completely off, only enough light to ensure safety, security and order. Nearby offices such as the City Party Committee and People's Committee only turn on security lights, turning off all decorative lights. The headquarters of EVN Hanoi is dark, only the hotline department's duty area is lit.

The intersection of Hang Khay - Trang Tien - Dinh Tien Hoang - Hang Bai at 8:45 p.m. on June 1. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

According to the Hanoi People's Committee, the public lighting system of 12 districts and national and provincial highways of 17 districts and towns has about 230,000 light sets, of which energy-saving LED lights account for only over 11%. The total power capacity of the public lighting system is about 30,000 kw/h.

In the context of power shortage, since the end of May, Hanoi has started to reduce lighting and decorative lights. The goal is to reduce the capacity of the public lighting system by 50% compared to the same period; turn on lights 30 minutes later, turn off 30 minutes earlier; reduce advertising lighting capacity by 50% before 10pm, turn off all after 10pm. Lights in parks and flower gardens can only operate at no more than 50% capacity and turn off completely after 11pm.

Similarly, Hai Phong City is also reducing lighting. On the evening of June 1, the area around the city's Opera House, which is normally bright at night, was now in darkness. Four high-powered floodlights in the square and all decorative lights were turned off. "The lights at the Opera House were turned off three days ago, when the heat was at its peak," said Ms. Phan Hang, who lives 300 meters away.

Hai Phong City People's Committee Headquarters, Central Post Office , Museum, Hoang Van Thu Bridge are normally illuminated with decorative lights from 6:45 pm to 10:30 pm, but for the past three days they have been completely turned off. According to the leader of Hai Phong Lighting Joint Stock Company, the temporary cut off of decorative lights during the peak of the hot season is to save electricity. In addition, some roads will also cut off lighting from 10:30 pm to achieve the goal of saving 30-50% of electricity.

Power cut in Hai Phong Opera House area on the evening of June 1. Photo: Le Tan

In Quang Ninh , the Public Service Management Board has reduced the lighting on some roads and reset the lighting hours to suit the summer. Restaurants, hotels, commercial service establishments, office complexes and apartment buildings have reduced the lighting capacity of outdoor decorative advertising by 50%.

Mr. Le Trong Thanh, Deputy General Director of Tung Lam Yen Tu Development Joint Stock Company, said that the company has reduced the public lighting system by half, using sensors that only turn on when there are people. Tourists are advised to turn on the air conditioner in their rooms at 26 degrees Celsius or higher. "The money earned from saving electricity will be used to reward employees, so everyone is aware," Mr. Thanh said.

Since late May, Da Nang City Chairman Le Trung Chinh has requested that 100% of decorative and advertising lighting be turned off from 8pm. During the same time frame, restaurants, hotels, commercial service establishments, office complexes and apartment buildings must reduce outdoor decorative advertising lighting by 50%. The goal is to save at least 30% of total electricity consumption in public lighting.

The decision to turn off the decorative lights even though the city is in the peak tourist season and the International Fireworks Festival is due to the impact of unusually hot weather, the load in the area at the end of April and the beginning of May increased. The average daily output reached more than 9.3 million kWh, the maximum output reached more than 10.6 million kWh (an increase of more than 17.5% compared to the same period in 2022).

The area on both sides of the Han River Swing Bridge before and after the decorative lights were turned off. Photo: Nguyen Dong

According to VnExpress 's records on the evening of June 1, most hotels, restaurants, office complexes, and apartment buildings along the Han River have turned off all outdoor advertising and decorative lighting. Dragon Bridge, Tran Thi Ly Bridge, Han River Swing Bridge, and Thuan Phuoc Bridge also turned off all decorative lights from 10 p.m.

Ms. Tran Thi Be, Director of Pariat Hotel on Bach Dang Street, Hai Chau District, said that before the city had the above policy, the hotel had already had an electricity saving plan for the past two months. "We have replaced all regular light bulbs with LED lights, and during peak hours, we have set up notifications to remind employees to turn off all unnecessary electrical devices such as light bulbs. Employees who want to take the elevator have to wait for each other to go in turn...", Ms. Be said.

During the evening rush hour, the hotel only turned on one advertising light instead of three as before. The check-in lobby and dining areas, which had air conditioning on in advance, were also turned off and the doors were closed to keep them cool. The decorative lights outside were only left in a few necessary areas to ensure the general lighting along the Han River in the city. Ms. Be said that thanks to proactive electricity saving plans, the hotel only had to pay more than 60 million VND in May, saving nearly 40 million VND in electricity bills compared to previous months.

Bach Dang Street after hotels and buildings turned off their lights to decorate the evening of June 1. Photo: Nguyen Dong

According to the forecast of Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), operating the power system during the peak hot months (from May to July) will be very difficult. The Northern power system faces a shortage of about 1,600-4,900 MW. The cause of drought and prolonged water shortage has reduced the water flow to hydroelectric reservoirs. The capacity and output of wind power plants have decreased sharply due to poor wind.

Meanwhile, the load of the entire national power system on May 19 was nearly 924 million kWh, the highest level since the beginning of the year and an increase of 10.5% over the same period. The maximum power consumption reached 44,600 MW, the highest in history and an increase of 8.5% over the same period last year. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade requested ministries and branches to use electricity economically and effectively; raise awareness among people, businesses and the community about saving electricity.

Reporter team

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