Sixteen State agencies and enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City have recently signed agreements committing to cutting their energy consumption by renovating their equipment and technology and tightening energy use management in the next three years.

Ho Chi Minh City is the first locality in the nation to carry out the initiative.

According to the municipal Department of Science and Technology, from 2015 to 2017, the companies and organisations will become energy-efficient, saving 481 million kWh of electricity and 5.6 million litres oil, thus effecting a saving of 807 billion VND (38.4 million USD).

Sai Gon Co.op Mart, HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zone Authority (HEPZA), Saigontourist, and several others signed agreements to be involved with the city's green strategy, which will help cut around 286,000 tonnes of emissions.

The municipal Department of Science and Technology will help them with technical solutions, equipment and technologies to save energy.

With increasing demand for power and the impacts of climate change becoming clearer, the city wants all companies and organisations using energy efficiently, with the State sector being in the vanguard.

Huynh Kim Tuoc, director of the department's Energy Conservation Centre, said the city would face pressure on its energy availability in the near future if energy-saving solutions are not adopted.

The transport and industrial sectors and households are the biggest consumers of energy at the moment.

The Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien Metro line alone will consume 5 percent of the city's power supply once it begins operating, he said.

Industry is among the biggest consumers, but since 2002, with the government's support for enterprises to upgrade technology, the city has been able to annually save 932,000 kWh and 5.6 million litres of oil, also thus achieving a reduction of more than 600,000 tonnes in emissions every year.

Le Manh Ha, Deputy Chairman of the HCM City People's Committee said saving energy would benefit not only the enterprises, but also the public and help protect the environment.

The first phase of the programme is applied to State-owned firms and offices and 206 other companies that consume a lot of energy will be asked to adopt solutions to reduce energy consumption in the programme's second phase.-VNA