The conference was held in the form of face-to-face and online, with the participation of nearly 2,000 businesses and customers from 27 Northern provinces/cities.
An urgent solution
Speaking at the conference, Mr. Pham Quang Huy - Deputy Director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (Ministry of Industry and Trade) stated that, according to the assessment of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, to meet Vietnam's GDP growth requirements in the period of 2023 - 2030, electricity demand is expected to increase by 8.37%/year on average and reach nearly 500 billion kWh of commercial electricity, with a peak capacity of about 86GW by 2030. This is a huge challenge for Vietnam's power sector. Therefore, the economical and efficient use of energy is considered an urgent solution to ensuring national energy security.
Mr. Pham Quang Huy - Deputy Director of Electricity Regulatory Authority (Ministry of Industry and Trade) speaking at the conference
For the Northern region, the power supply in the coming years will be very challenging because the electricity demand tends to increase rapidly, especially during peak heat days. Therefore, in addition to the efforts of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Vietnam Electricity, the participation and collaboration of ministries, agencies, People's Committees of provinces and cities, the cooperation of the business community and electricity customers is very important.
According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Dung – Director of EVN's Business Department, solutions for the economical and efficient use of electricity, including the demand response program (DR program), will contribute to alleviating pressure on electricity supply during peak hours; enabling customers to use electricity more efficiently, saving input costs; at the same time, contributing to environmental protection, towards the national goal of emission reduction. “When participating in power saving programs, the demand response program will help customers pay more reasonable electricity prices, use less electricity during peak hours, improve production and business performance, increase the competitiveness of products in the domestic and international markets", emphasized Mr. Nguyen Quoc Dung.
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Dung - Director of EVN's Business Department informing conference about solutions for economical and efficient use of electricity, including demand response program.
The collaboration of locals and businesses is in need
Mr. Nguyen Duc Thien - General Director of EVNNPC delivering closing speech
Speaking at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Duc Thien - General Director of EVNNPC said that EVNNPC has basically ensured a safe, stable and quality electricity supply for socio-economic development and people's life in 27 Northern provinces/cities. In 2022, EVNNPC's power sales reached over 86.5 billion kWh, an increase of 5.77% compared to 2021 and is the leading one among EVN's 5 distribution corporations in terms of power sales.
Over the years, EVNNPC has also been a pioneer in Vietnam Electricity to effectively implement programs on the economical and efficient use of electricity, including the demand response program. With the companionship of electricity customers, EVNNPC's electricity-saving amount in 2022 reached 2% of the total power sales. In particular, the number of businesses with a consumption level of 1 -3 million kWh/year voluntarily involved in the demand response program is increasing. In 2022, the number of customers involved in the DR program increased to 3,536 customers.