Vietnam Continues Expanding World Bank-funded Energy Saving Programs

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has launched a project on saving energy which is part of the programs receiving financial support from the World Bank since 2011. The programs, which received funding from the bank and the Global Environmental Fund, have focused on expanding the implementation of voluntary agreement of energy service companies (ESCOs). At the launching ceremony, EVN said that the group will multiply ESCOs in every part of the country in the future thanks to good results gained from the one-year pilot projects which both help save energy and reduce gas emissions. Tran Viet Nguyen, deputy head of EVN’s Marketing Department, said that ESCOs are part of the group’s energy-saving programs for 2016-2020, for which, EVN targets to develop at least 50 ESCO projects annually. All electricity users are subject to ESCO projects, he said, adding that EVN will cover initial investment and prioritize small projects costing between VND500 million ($22,000) and VND2 billion. Dang Nguyen Phuong, who is in charge of supervising power purchase at EVN’s Southern Power Corporation, said that ESCOs bring about comprehensive energy-saving solutions covering making plans, constructing, installing, operating, maintaining, and minimizing risks. Once involved in ESCOs, customers can save money from initial investment in installing and operating the system while profit from energy saving will be returned monthly to investors, Mr. Phuong said. Companies can save up to 60% of energy expenses when using equipment from ESCO projects, he noted. (Baocongthuong.com.vn Jan 8)