Proposal to have heavy penalties for using electricity economically and effectively

EVN representative said that Vietnam's energy usage rate is not as efficient as some other countries; to have 1,000 USD, we are consuming about 2-3 times more energy than other countries.

Dong Nai Electricity Construction Team repairs power lines and replaces equipment on the medium voltage grid in the Suoi Nho-Dinh Quan area. (Photo: VNA)

At the seminar "Electricity Saving - From Policy to Life" organized by the Government Electronic Information Portal on the afternoon of May 15, the guests systematized, analyzed, interpreted, and discussed the direction and administration of the Government, Ministries, and functional branches in the economical and efficient use of electricity; the dissemination of energy saving programs into social life; solutions for effective, sustainable, and economical use of electricity sources...

Fully aware of the importance of using energy economically and efficiently, the Government and the Prime Minister have always been consistent in their viewpoint of "ensuring electricity in all situations" and have given strong and synchronous instructions; issued many documents, directed the launch and promotion of many action programs on using electricity economically and efficiently.

Ensure power supply

Mr. Vo Quang Lam, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), said that in April 2024, the national commercial electricity output reached 26.8 billion kWh, an increase of 14.1% over the same period in 2023.

In the first four months of the year, commercial electricity reached 96.2 billion kWh, up 12.4% compared to 2023 and the highest growth rate in recent years.

However, electricity consumption is 1.5 times higher than the country's growth rate (electricity for industry increased by 10.91%, electricity for trade and services increased by 18.95%, electricity for daily life increased by 18.54%).

In April 2024, the power system set new records, much higher than past capacity and output.

At 1:30 p.m. on April 27, the peak capacity of the national power system reached 47,670 MW, an increase of 13.2% over the same period in 2023, higher than the maximum capacity in 2023 of 1,929 MW, a record number in the entire 70-year history of Vietnam's electricity industry.

In terms of output, on April 26, the national electricity output reached 994 million kWh, up 14.3% compared to 2023 and up 7.6% compared to the highest day of 2023.

“These records all occurred during the holidays. That is the beginning of the hot season in the North and also the hot season in the Central region. We predict that in 2024, in the coming months, the power system may have new records in capacity and output,” said Mr. Lam.

The Deputy General Director of EVN said that Vietnam's energy usage rate is not as efficient as some other countries. To earn 1,000 USD, we are consuming about 2-3 times more energy than other countries.

Referring to this issue, Mr. Trinh Quoc Vu, Deputy Director of the Department of Energy Saving and Sustainable Development - Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that 2024 will face many difficulties due to the complicated El Nino situation, the demand for electricity is forecast to grow strongly due to the economic recovery and production recovery, especially the export processing industry.

At the end of 2023, the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a document directing the Vietnam Electricity Group, the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group, and localities to strictly and strongly implement solutions on electricity and energy saving according to Directive No. 20/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister.

The leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade also approved the specialized inspection plan on electricity and energy saving in 2024 and assigned the focal agency, the Department of Energy Saving and Sustainable Development, to implement it very early, trying to complete it in the second quarter and early third quarter to ensure guidance, supervision as well as handling of outstanding issues, promptly organizing and effectively implementing electricity and energy saving solutions.

According to Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, an economic expert, Directive 20 not only launched an emulation movement but also served as a national action program. He said that in the period of 2023-2025 and the following years, the whole country must strive to save at least 2% of total electricity consumption annually; reduce electricity loss across the entire power system to below 6% by 2025...

This is a very clear-cut approach that requires real commitment, political commitment, which means action.

“The first thing to use electricity effectively is that the output must be sufficient. If there is a shortage of electricity, it cannot be effective. It is not because of a shortage that we need to save, but the important thing is that the electricity supply must be stable.

This requires more effort. Recently, we have increased electricity production, this is one of the most important approaches to increase the efficiency of electricity use,” Mr. Thien said.

According to him, adding a power transmission line from Quang Binh to Hung Yen recently is one of the solutions to increase the efficiency of electricity use and distribution.

In the national electricity saving program, these actions show positivity and high vision. That is a very positive way of doing things of the current Government.

This expert believes that it is necessary to raise awareness and educate citizens to consider electricity as a precious resource of humanity. In the past, the media has done a strong job, the Government has given instructions, and in the future, we will have to do even better.

There are heavy sanctions instead of encouraging electricity saving.

Citing the example of the implementation of Decree 100/2019/ND-CP, which severely punished violations of alcohol concentration when participating in traffic, people complied and gradually changed their habits, Mr. Ha Dang Son, energy expert, Director of the Center for Energy and Green Growth Research, raised the question: Should saving electricity and saving resources also have such severe sanctions instead of the current regulations that are mostly still encouraging and educational in nature?

Dien Bien Electricity workers inspect a transformer station. (Photo: Xuan Tu/VNA)

Is it possible that community awareness has matured enough to start taking stronger, more mandatory actions, rather than just a story of not wanting to do it?

According to Mr. Ha Dang Son, electricity prices are currently subsidized by social security policies and many other policies of the Government. The Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade are in the process of reforming prices according to different mechanisms to gradually adhere to the market.

There are localities that care and really promote, so saving electricity is very effective. But there are many localities, due to many social security issues, wanting to attract investment... creating very favorable conditions for investors.

In this case, businesses may invest in inefficient energy use, using technologies that are not the latest, leading to large energy waste.

He hopes that in the coming time, the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant units will promote the energy saving network to return to the state it was nearly 10 years ago.

Recognizing that propaganda and mobilization are only one of the solutions and that it is not enough, EVN Deputy General Director Vo Quang Lam said that the Group has applied many technologies to make electricity saving more vivid and effective, especially creating interaction between electricity suppliers and electricity users.

To date, about 92% of electricity meters have been electronically operated. With the application of digital transformation, electricity customers can interact and view their electricity output.

The electricity industry is setting up many different modes, customers can see how much electricity is consumed in a day and compare it with the previous time, or with the previous year, or with the area... to know how they are using electricity./.

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