Firms focus on energy efficiency

Enterprises should focus on advanced technologies to save energy and costs for themselves and the country, a seminar in Ha Noi heard yesterday.

The symposium on energy efficiency in manufacturing was held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Energy Efficiency Centre.

Viet Nam faced an energy shortage which would be eased if enterprises and individuals were aware of the need to save energy, the seminar was told.

To raise the awareness, the Government had begun a national programme on energy efficiency, of which the seminar was part.

The ministry said that to generate US$1,000 GDP, Viet Nam must consume 600kg of oil equivalent, a unit of energy, one and a half times higher than that in Thailand and double the average rate of the world.

The energy consumption of Vietnamese manufacturing sector was also double or triple that of other nations in the region.

Schneider Electric Vietnam representative Do Manh Dung said: “The gap between energy supply and demand in Viet Nam tripled against a decade ago and the gap will continue to widen due to a sharp increase in demand.”

It was expected the demand on power would be 74 billion kWh while the supply would likely stay at about 64 billion kWh this year, he said.

Electricity prices in Viet Nam would increase amid rising demand and against the present low prices in comparison with other nations, he said.

“The Government had mapped out plans to invest $30 billion to generate an addition capacity of 33,200MW by 2015,” he said. “However, supply still failed to meet demand and energy saving was an indispensable and compulsory responsibility of enterprises.”

Dung pointed out four steps for energy efficiency in production: measuring and auditing energy consumption, using advanced technologies, applying automatic systems and maintaining management and consultancy on energy efficiency.

Ha Noi Technology University deputy rector Pham Hoang Luong said: “To manage energy saving effectively, the determination of CEOs plays a very important role and he or she must mobilise all workers to do it.”

Companies should also implement quality management, he said. These measures would help save energy, cut costs, reduce product prices and thus sharpen the competitive edge.

Luong said businesses should “boldly” renovate their technologies to improve quality and get higher sale prices.

Energy efficiency and cleaner production usually coincided, he said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade had composed a draft decree to encourage manufacturers to use renewable energy.

However, the ministry’s science and technology department deputy director Vuong Hoang Kim said: “We have to go step by step because the cost of applying renewable energy was higher than the financial capacity of Vietnamese firms.”

The seminar was part of the international fair and exhibition on energy efficiency and environment at the Giang Vo exhibition centre, that will end tomorrow. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam electricity, Vietnam energy, Vietnam power shortage