Rotating power cut is one of the immediate solutions the Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) has been carrying out to conserve power during the peak dry season. However, this solution is counterproductive to some extent, which can cause big wastage, said Dr Nguyen Van Khai, an official from the Vietnam Sciences Institute.

Large-scale production lines that consume much power are a prime example. According to Mr Khai, a large clinker kiln needs a great deal of power to keep it operating for a long time. If power cut happens every three days, the whole production process will immediately come to a standstill, and economic loss will be uncountable. The problem is a big waste of power as the kiln constantly needs to be re-started.

“We can install power conserving equipment into high capacity engines to conserve power. That means instead of cutting power, we should think of reducing the amount of power consumed,” said Mr Khai.

Power for the lighting system makes up only 20 percent of the total amount of power consumed across the country. In big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the figure is merely three percent. Therefore, Dr Nguyen Van Tien from the Vietnam Sciences Institute said that it is not necessary to cut power for the lighting system.

“Why do we not use equipment that consumes less power but has high lighting capacity,” said Mr Tien. “This solution has been adopted in many developed countries during 1980s and 1990s. For example, we can install two 20W bulbs in two different places instead of using a 100W bulb.”

Over the past decades, scientists have tried to manufacture power-conserving equipment, study new technologies to generate power and seek renewable sources of energy. Many products of such type such as compact bulbs, triphosphorus fluorescent lights, air conditioners and industrial engines have been manufactured as a result of these research projects. However, these products have not been widely applied in reality.

According to Dr Khai, consumers do not see the long-term benefits from using new products at least one and a half times more expensive than the old ones. A compact T8 triphosphorus bulb costs VND15,000 compared to the old T10 bulb costing only VND9,000. A T5 bulb, for example, consumes 10 percent less power than the old one of the same kind, but its lighting capacity increases by 20 percent. As a result, consumers will conserve 30 percent of the amount of power in the long term.