HANOI, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade has called on each individual and organization, especially enterprises, to take action to save energy, Vietnam News reported on Tuesday, citing Trinh Quoc Vu, deputy director of the ministry's Energy Saving Department.
The action aims to cope with the severe electricity shortages as what happened this summer in the Southeast Asian country.
According to the ministry, industries accounted for more than half of Vietnam's total energy consumption.
If each enterprise saved at least 2 percent of its energy consumption each year, an estimated volume of 1.4 billion kWh could be saved, equivalent to 3 trillion Vietnamese dong (nearly 123.3 U.S. dollars).
Vietnam's total power production reached 186.3 billion kilowatt-hours in the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 2.7 percent.
Given the context of the annual rising power demand of 10 percent, northern Vietnam is predicted to continuously face power shortages in the coming years.
A shortage of up to 1,770 MW is predicted during the peak of the dry season next year in the country, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. ■