‘Saving energy helps reduce the pressure to invest in new power sources’

At the peak season electricity saving seminar on June 22, Mr. Ngo Son Hai, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), said that each year the national electricity system needs to add about 4,000-5,000 MW of new capacity to meet demand.

He said that to put into operation a 1,000 MW liquefied natural gas (LNG) or offshore wind power project usually takes 3-4 years of preparation and construction. Meanwhile, if the entire system saves about 2% of power consumption, the efficiency is equivalent to reducing the need to invest about 1,000 MW of new source capacity.

“Saving electricity is a quick, effective and much less expensive solution than investing in a new power source,” Mr. Hai said.

According to EVN leaders, each kWh of electricity saved helps people and businesses reduce electricity bills, while contributing to reducing the overall costs of the entire society. Because when electricity demand increases, the system must mobilize additional sources with higher costs to meet it. Using electricity economically and effectively will help limit the mobilization of these expensive sources, thereby reducing operating costs of the entire system.

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Ha Dang Son, Chairman of the Center for Research on Energy and Green Growth, said that many international organizations, including the International Energy Agency (IEA), consider saving electricity as the “first fuel” because this is the lowest-cost solution to increase the ability to meet energy needs.

According to Mr. Son, awareness of electricity saving in the business sector has improved significantly because it is directly linked to profits and production costs. However, in residential areas – a group that accounts for about 30% of total electricity demand – the awareness of effective use is still limited.

According to Directive 10 on enhancing electricity saving in the period 2026-2030, the whole country strives to save at least 3% of electricity consumption in 2026, while reducing at least 3,000 MW of peak load capacity (highest electricity demand) through electricity demand management and load adjustment (electricity demand) programs.

Energy saving requirements arise in the context of rapidly increasing electricity demand. The heat wave at the end of May pushed the highest electricity consumption capacity to nearly 58,000MW, an increase of 5.6% compared to the 2025 record, while electricity output some days exceeded 1 billion kWh. With the goal of double-digit economic growth, electricity demand is expected to continue to increase strongly in the coming years.

According to a representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, one of the biggest risks today is geopolitical instability that directly impacts the global energy supply chain.

“When the supply chain is disrupted, energy costs can increase by 15-20%, or even higher,” Mr. Dung said. He cited that during the tense period in the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices increased from about 50-60 USD to over 100 USD per barrel, creating great pressure on production and business activities and the entire economy.

Vietnam also faces pressure from increasingly strict emission reduction requirements from major export markets. According to Mr. Dung, mechanisms such as the European Union’s Carbon Border Tax (CBAM) or the European Green Deal (Green Deal) are forcing the power system to gradually reduce carbon emission coefficients, thereby accelerating the transition to renewable energy. However, renewable energy (wind power, solar power) depends heavily on weather conditions. In the context of unpredictable climate change, forecasting and operating the power system becomes more complicated.

Not to mention, according to leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, investment progress in power source and grid projects is also under pressure from investment procedures, site clearance and obstacles in implementation.

Faced with these challenges, Mr. Dung said that using energy economically and efficiently is one of the pillars of ensuring energy security, in addition to developing coal, oil and gas sources and renewable energy.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is also researching financial solutions to support businesses in converting technology and improving energy use efficiency. According to Mr. Dung, this agency will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to build a Fund for economical and efficient use of energy to create more resources for the green transition process.