If, in common sense, a buck saved is a buck earned, this proves all the more significant in energy savings, when a sum invested may result in higher profits and higher benefits. If, for an individual, energy saving merely means to avoid money burning big holes in his or her pocket, then for a company, it means better returns and better business efficiency, and for an economy, there are even greater dimensions of cost-effectiveness.

And the trend proves right, although not many have adopted it.

When local firm Vitecfood, under Masan Group, in Tan Binh Industrial Zone, spent about VND300 million on energy efficiency, it looked like a big investment. But the company has been richly rewarded for its vision, as the high benefits of one month’s energy saving now is almost enough for the company to recoup all investment in this field. The company’s management said it could now save about VND2.7 billion a year from the energy-saving program.

Energy shortage is causing a lot of negative impacts on the community as well as the business circle, prompting the nation to pass the Law on Energy Efficiency, which will take effect from 2011.

Experts believe that from 2015 Vietnam will have to import a large amount of energy, and at the time the cost will be much higher. That means companies will suffer from an upsurge in energy cost because most of them are using out-of-date technologies and equipment, which consume a lot of energy.

Energy cost takes about 20% of the country’s GDP, according to some estimates. In HCMC, the manufacturing sector is consuming 36% of the total energy quota, of which steel, cement, textile and garment, and ceramic industries are big consumers, which are targeted to cut their energy consumption by some 50% in the years to come.

There have been excellent examples on the great benefits that energy saving brings about. Apart from the case study of Vitecfood mentioned above, there is also the case of Fujitsu Vietnam in Dong Nai Province. Since launching the energy-saving program, the company has been able to save about 6.24 million kWh per year, equivalent to VND10 billion.

However, others still consume a large amount of energy. These companies explain that they have no money and no time to embrace an energy saving program. Another reason explaining why these companies are still late in applying energy-saving practices is that they can still earn money with their current production modes.

Experts blame this situation on the unchanged mindset among many manufacturers. Furthermore, there existed an established fact that during a long time the country has welcomed foreign investment for the economic sake, though the low-tech equipment consumes a lot of energy and does harm to the environment.

For example, the northern province of Thai Binh receives a total energy quota of two million kWh per day but half of the amount is consumed directly by only the steel factory of Dong Hung with a demand of 0.9 million kWh, and the other half is allocated for 1.8 million people and all other companies there altogether.

As blackouts in the dry season become a big headache for the economy as well as for all stakeholders, energy saving becomes one of the immediate as well as long run commands in the current situation of energy shortage, for now and in the years to come.

Ten years ago, the Government passed a degree calling for energy efficiency, and it was officially upgraded to a national target in 2006, called the National Targeted Program on Energy Efficiency and Conservation, or EEC.

Nguyen Dinh Hiep, head of the Science and Technology Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told the Daily that during the last three years, EEC made great efforts in promoting energy-saving products, building legal documents and launching campaigns to help raise the awareness of the community in energy conservation.

The program aims to achieve a 3-5% reduction in total energy consumption in the country in 2006-2010 and another 5-8% in 2011-2015, or five million tons of oil equivalent (TOE) and 13 million TOE per year, respectively.

This is confirmed by a research project revealed recently by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia that if in 2030 Vietnam saves some 7.6% of the total consumption targeted in the EEC, it will save about 11.4 million tons of oil per year equivalent.

In 2011-2015, Hiep said, the program will continue to provide technical expertise for energy efficiency and conservation programs, such as issuing codes of practice and establishing guidelines. It will also be actively involved in working groups and related committees in the efficient use and conservation of electricity.

Additional initiatives range from energy management and database management to benchmarking, exploration of advanced energy efficiency technologies, and energy efficiency labeling scheme to promote wider use of new and renewable energy.

“We will call for a concerted effort in improving energy efficiency, reducing energy losses, and instituting measures for improving energy conservation in all sectors of the economy,” said Hiep. “And with the Energy Efficiency Law, it will help facilitate the target of the program.

“Energy efficiency is a practical solution for Vietnam to ensure the energy security, as well as an efficient way in response to the climate change, for a coastal country like Vietnam,” another expert told the Daily.

After all, according to him, investment in energy saving is the wise money. He figured out that the cost of making one kWh of electricity is four times bigger than the cost of saving one kWh, and that saving one kWh of electricity means a reduction of some 0.6 kilogram CO2 emitted into the environment, the emission that causes climate change, to which Vietnam is a small contributor but of which it will be a big victim.

 By Phi Tuan in HCMC