Efficiency Seen in Dong Nai’s Energy-Saving Programs

The results indicated that 65.2 million kWh was saved in 2010, reaching the one-percent target compared to Dong Nai’s commercial power.

Energy-saving rate was not high in comparison with the real power consumption, but this shows that energy-efficiency measures gradually become effective and help raise both businesses and people’s awareness of energy saving.

* Dong Nai is a province with a huge power consumption

Dong Nai is one of the provinces that have high industrial production value and power consumption in the country.

Dong Nai’s power consumption rate is ranked third, just lower than that of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi cities.

The commercial power growth rate has stayed high the past years.  In 2006-2010 period, this rate was by 15 per cent, equivalent to a 1.69 fold increase, from 3,306 million kWh in 2006 to 6,100 million kWh in 2010.

As a province that has many industrial parks, Dong Nai’s industry-construction power density represents over 77 percent of commercial power production of the whole province.

This results in a power shortage that will exert a tremendous impact on the province’s climate for investment, production and business as well as its socio-economic development objectives.

Dong Nai’s maximum power production capacity is 1,029 MW, but the Southern Grid Control Center’s capacity allocation rate in rush hours is approximately 950 MW. Thus, electric grid problems might occur at any time.

Using new electric devices helps save electricity

Power waste has been a problem in our country for a long time and is happening quietly. And this power waste is growing at an alarming rate.

People’s growing spiritual and materialistic life results in a rising and widespread electricity waste that does not only occur in electricity use for households and irrigation, but also in production and business activities that need great power consumption.

Industrial parks alone in Dong Nai consume huge power consumption, accounting for nearly 77 percent of the power consumption of the whole province.

Power sector must grow by 14 to 15 percent every year to respond to the 6-to-8 percent GDP growth.

That reality causes functional agencies a lot of challenges such as how to reduce power consumption and how to ensure and maintain a stable power supply for economic development, environmental preservation and energy security.

In the previous years, Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee issued a lot of energy-saving directions.

Accordingly, Department of Trade and Industry cooperated with functional agencies in monitoring how much electricity is used in government agencies and public organizations with the intention of saving at least 10 percent of power costs; in inspecting how electricity for public lighting systems is used, in cutting down a half of the lights used for public lighting and advertising purposes and in asking the businesses that consume much electricity to save 5 to 10 percent of their consumption.

In addition, solutions as well as measures to minimize damage and impact levels of the power shortage is to take initiative to establish programs and to put forward solutions to using power unwastefully and effectively since Dong Nai’s electricity production totally depends on the National Grid Control Center’s power allocation rate that is equal to the whole country’s power shortage.

* Efficiency seen in energy-saving programs

The National Assembly passed the energy-efficiency law, dated June 17, 2010, taking effect as of January 1, 2011.

The electricity consumers within the scope of amendments to energy-efficiency law are divided into two groups.

One group that is called major electricity consumers, including industrial facilities, household-use constructions and forwarding companies must follow the amendments that are associated with specific regulations.

For the other group that uses less energy like households and small-and-medium-sized enterprises, energy-efficiency law is encouraged to follow.

Energy-efficiency use is defined significant and makes great contributions to socio-economic growth.

Thus, Dong Nai implemented a lot of energy-efficiency measures and good results were initially achieved in 2010.

Dong Nai has 2,012 administrative customers that consumed more than 32 million kWh in 2010, down 6.5 million kWh compared to 2009.

25 administrative customers have registered for their electricity use rate at local electricity authorities

In 2010, Dong Nai Power One-Member Limited Company also contacted each customer directly to encourage them to save 5 to 10 percent of their power consumption in the dry season 2010.

Simultaneously, Dong Nai Power One-Member Limited Company encouraged its customers to use back-up diesel generators to reduce the capacity in peak hours.

In 2010, the company succeeded in calling for its 69 customers to use diesel generators, making 22 million kWh.

Sources of clean energy are energy-efficiency solutions

In addition, under the directions of  Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Industrial Encouragement Center at Dong Nai Department of Trade and Industry in 2010 carried out the “Assistance in taking and implementing Dong Nai’s energy-efficiency measures in 2010”  project of the Steering Committee of the national target program on how to use energy efficiently.

Solutions on raising the awareness of energy-efficiency use were provided for 160 customers.

A survey on 400 manufacturers’ electricity use of was conducted and energy auditing was done at Dong Nai’s two major enterprises.

Thereby, 43.6 million kWh was saved, representing 0.74 percent compared with the commercial electricity consumption for industrial production.

Measures to save 50 percent of the power consumption have been taken on all streets in Dong Nai that have public lighting systems.

Particularly, 6.9 million kWh was saved towards public lighting architectures.

Forecast says that rolling blackout in 2011 will grow high and power sector will have difficulties in meeting a high power supply due to weather problems and a prolonged drought.

In order to take timely initiative to deal with this situation, Department of Trade and Industry has made plans to implement an energy-efficiency program that has a focus on raising people’s awareness of efficient energy use; on investing in and upgrading rural power grids that suit technical regulations and standards with the aim of ensuring power safety and power loss reduction and on enforcing energy-efficiency use rules.

Reported by P. Linh, Translated by Duy Minh