Solar panels being installed on a house in Tan Binh District, HCM City. (Photo: sggp.org.vn) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Three years after beginning a pilot programme tobuy solar power at 2,000 VND (8.7 US cents) per kWh generated in homes andoffices, Ho Chi Minh City has signed up 290 consumers.
The city’s power tariffs for domesticconsumption range from 1,549 VND to 2,701 VND per kWh, depending on the quantumof use.
Tuoi tre newspaper quoted some people assaying that the high cost of solar panels and equipment is what prevents morefrom signing up.
Phu Hoang Yen of Tan Binh district said,for instance, she first knew about the solar programme in 2016 through themedia, but at that time installing the panels cost 200 million VND (8,700 USD).
Last June, when the cost had gone down toaround 100 million VND, she bought the system, but even that price isunaffordable to many people, she said.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga of Phu Nhuan districtthought about it many times before finally deciding to spend 105 million VND ona solar power system.
Nga said she only pays 1.4 million a month for electricity now, saving around700,000 VND after installing solar panels.
The people’s committees of Districts 2 and4 and other departments have also got solar panels installed.
Lam Hung Tan, Deputy Chairman of theDistrict 4 People’s Committee, said with the help of the Department of Scienceand Technology (DoST) his office installed a 345sq.m panel at a cost of 1billion VND.
“The cost is still relatively high. Ahousehold has to spend 79.5 million VND for the cheapest package. At that cost,encouraging its adoption is not easy.”
Tan said the bills would go down further soon since the system could notachieve full capacity due to rainy weather recently.
He added that said there are plans to install solar panels in some hospitalsand schools in the district.
Nguyen Hoang Gia of DoST’s energy solutionsand new energy unit said his department is offering several incentives forsolar power like free consultancy, technical assistance and installation, withconsumers only having to pay for the solar panels and other equipment.
It also gets them a 15 percent discountfrom a local company selling solar panels.
SolarBK Corporation, another majorrenewables company, said it is working with banks to enable customers to getloans for buying solar panels.
It also offers a 10 percent discount to buyersreferred by Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) in HCM City.-VNS/VNA
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