Saving electricity for lighting: Still has a lot of potential

More instructions on saving electricity for lighting

In the recent Official Dispatch No. 81/CD-TTg on the situation and solutions to ensure electricity supply during peak months in 2025 and the coming time, in addition to assigning the task of ensuring electricity, the Prime Minister requested to strengthen electricity saving solutions, including public lighting and electricity for outdoor advertising and decoration.

Accordingly, ministries and branches must actively direct the implementation of effective electricity saving in the area, especially in public lighting, lighting for advertising purposes, and outdoor decoration.

This directive is extremely practical in the context of the prolonged severe heat wave in the Northern and Central provinces, and the demand for electricity is increasing dramatically. According to a report from the National Electricity System and Market Operation Company Limited (NSMO), on June 2, 2025, the national peak load capacity reached 51,672 MW at 13:40, becoming the highest level ever.

Hanoi turns off lights around Hoan Kiem Lake

Therefore, saving electricity in general, in the lighting field, is considered a short-term but effective and sustainable "rescue" solution.

Although there are no exact statistics on electricity used for public lighting nationwide and for advertising and decoration of businesses and establishments, it is estimated that electricity consumption for public lighting in urban areas accounts for 3-5% of total electricity consumption in urban areas and up to 10% of the budget for urban operations in many localities.

In fact, the directive on saving electricity in the public lighting sector has been mentioned in Directive 20/CT-TTg in 2023 on enhancing electricity saving in the period of 2023-2025 and the following years with the goal of saving at least 30% of total electricity consumption in the period of 2023-2025.

Implementing the Prime Minister's direction, recently, many localities and enterprises have had specific solutions to save electricity for lighting such as limiting public lighting by turning on later and turning off earlier; replacing traditional lighting with energy-saving LED lights, combined with smart control devices to adjust light intensity according to time frames and traffic flow; installing solar panels for traffic lights; international cooperation to develop smart cities including the application of science and technology...

Preliminary estimates from several Power Corporations under the Vietnam Electricity Group show that reducing lighting time and adjusting street light intensity has helped save about 2-3 million kWh of electricity per month, equivalent to tens of billions of VND in electricity bills. If calculated nationwide, hundreds of billions of VND could be saved each month, equivalent to thousands of billions of VND per year.

Promote technology application

According to Official Dispatch No. 81/CD-TTg, ministries, branches and localities need to apply optimal management solutions, replace lighting with energy-saving lamps, apply automatic control technology, and promote the application of solar energy solutions in public lighting, lighting for advertising and outdoor decoration purposes.

Many experts believe that promoting energy saving in the field of public and outdoor lighting does not stop at "turning off the lights", but more importantly, applying modern technology to manage and coordinate more effectively.

Accordingly, localities need to invest in replacing old light bulbs with energy-saving LED lights in the lighting system; Apply automatic control technology, light sensors to adjust brightness according to time of day or traffic flow. Further strengthen the integration of solar power systems with storage systems into street lights, billboards, especially in sunny areas. In the long term, it is possible to research and invest in connecting the lighting system to a smart control center for remote monitoring and control.

However, in the context of limited investment budget resources of localities, especially investment in smart systems with synchronous connections. Therefore, in addition to propaganda and raising the sense of responsibility of agencies and enterprises, there is still a need for more effective policies such as issuing mandatory regulations or encouraging enterprises to advertise and decorate using energy-saving lighting equipment; increasing support for green credit, preferential loans for enterprises innovating lighting technology, etc.

It can be affirmed that the potential for saving electricity in public lighting, advertising and outdoor decoration is still great and brings practical efficiency to the budget of each agency and unit, helping to protect the environment and reduce pressure on the national power system. Therefore, if implemented synchronously with a specific action plan, it will contribute to the storm to achieve the set goals.

Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/su-dung-nang-luong-tiet-kiem-va-hieu-qua/tiet-kiem-dien-chieu-sang-van-con-nhieu-tiem-nang.html