>> Official denies power price rises to subsidise EVN losses
>> EVN reiterates power price hike proposal
Power prices for those who consume more electricity should be increased in order to encourage more efficient use, according to an expert.
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| Current power prices are not high enough to discourage well-to-do people from squandering energy |
Prof. Pham Duy Hien, former Deputy Director of Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VAEI), cum Director of Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor (DNRR), made the proposal at a recent forum in Hanoi on efficient energy use.
According to Hien, current power prices are not high enough to discourage well-to-do people from squandering energy.
Power and development
Hien bemoaned that Vietnam continues to squander electricity, despite global moves to conserve energy.
“Modern life doesn’t mean having to produce more and more electricity. In some countries 1kWh of electricity can produce USD4 in value. However Vietnam’s energy efficiency is pitifully low, at just 1USD in comparison,” he shared.
He noted that the country is mistaken in often setting a target for an annual electricity growth of 15% in order to attain GDP expansion of 6-7%. In the meantime, in developed countries like Germany and Japan, power output increase and economic growth are often equal.
Following international trends
“There is no better option than to strictly implement increased energy efficiency measures. This is an indispensable trend of development. Vietnam should not go on its own way but follow this direction,” Hien emphasised.
Few Vietnamese people bother with simple energy saving methods such as setting air-conditioners higher than 26 degrees Celsius or using energy-saving light bulbs.
Vietnam consumes nearly 100 billion kWh of electricity per year in order to produce USD100 billion GDP per annum. Of total power consumption, industry and construction use 51%, with the remainder attributed to public and domestic use.
However, energy use in industry and construction has yet to be efficiently used due to the use of outdated technologies.
Low public awareness has been blamed for inefficient daily energy use. Some household spend millions of VND on electricity months, adding to the country’s inefficient energy use.
Hien recommended that more attention should be paid to reducing the power leakage rate in Vietnam, which currently stands at 10%.
“The country should increase power prices gradually to match global rates in a bid to encourage increasingly efficient energy use. Vietnam’s current steel exports actually mean the exportation of low-cost energy, in other words it’s a waste of national energy,” he said.
During the approval of a foreign-invested project, authorities should consider their energy use efficiency in comparison with their investment efficiency before reaching a final decision, he suggested.
Privatisation
The Rosa Luxemburg Institute Vietnam’s (RLS) country representative Nadia Charaby said, Vietnam should decentralise power supply in order to allow private firms to participate in power production, ensuring transparency in the electricity system and encouraging efficient energy use.
In the meanwhile, Hien recommended the country pay more attention to development of renewable energy, saying that is an indispensable trend.
He said that the US had been investing more in renewable energy in recent years as its oil reserves are only equivalent to what it has consumed over the past 100 years.
After the March 11 nuclear power incident, Japan plans to gradually reduce its dependence on nuclear power and to boost renewable energy development.
Nuclear power
In response to several concerns over nuclear power prospect in Vietnam, Hien said the development of nuclear power in the country is different from other nations.
He said that it may be suitable for Germany to halt its nuclear power plans, however, France may build more. So, Vietnam should make its own mind up based on its unique situation, he claimed.
“Vietnam doesn’t yet have a sufficiently capable workforce to manage nuclear power development. A country that builds a nuclear power plant shouldn’t have such a chaotic traffic system like ours. It would be extremely dangerous to develop nuclear power when Vietnamese people still lack professionalism,” he noted.
He added that nuclear power development should be the last resort if the country finds no better alternative energy source to meet rising demand. It was vital to decide the most suitable time for such a plan as currently Vietnam has yet to possess the necessary conditions for nuclear power construction.
Nadia said she support alternative sources other than nuclear power due to the huge investment in construction, long-term impact in case of accidents, high costs of maintenance and security, and complicated waste treatment.
“Germans haven’t forgotten the horrible nature of the Chernobyl accident. I do expect a world without nuclear power. We can use nuclear power for tasks such as flying to the moon but not for daily power supply as we still have a lot of alternatives,” she added.
