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Power sector surges ahead, but still a long way to go
The power sector in Laos is developing fast but, to date, only about 8 percent of the country's total hydropower potential has been realised.
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Mr Viraphonh Viravong (right) speaks at the meeting while Mr Khammany Inthirath listens
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The development process involves new hydropower plants for commercial operation and power export, installation of transmission lines, and distribution networks to electrify consumers countrywide.
“The sector has experienced incredible growth in the last two decades,” Electricity Department Director General Mr Viraphonh Viravong said, speaking on Friday at a consultative workshop in Vientiane on the future development of the power sector.
With strong support from several development partners, Laos has seen the rate of electricity access jump from a poor 16 percent to a promising 75 percent in just 15 years, “which has brought tremendous benefits for the welfare and living standards of the population,” Mr Viraphonh said.
Average domestic consumption has grown 15.2 percent annually during the last decade. Installed generating capacity dramatically increased after the Nam Theun 2 hydropower plant came online with its 1,080 megawatts (MW).
Electricity du Laos Managing Director Mr Khammany Inthirath said Laos has large hydropower potential with estimates varying from 18,000 to 30,000MW, out of which only 8.5 percent has been developed so far.
“Many more power plants are due to be built in the near future,” Mr Viraphonh said.
Neighbouring countries with strategic interests in importing power have put their eyes and their investments in Laos and “expect Laos will generate clean and cheap electricity to substitute expensive fossil fuel in the energy mix of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) area,” he said.
To achieve this, it is necessary to develop the transmission network and a regional super-grid through the joint efforts of stakeholder countries, in conjunction with financiers and bilateral and multilateral donors.
There is great interest and development in generation by independent power producers (IPPs) and substantial foreign investment is attracted to Laos, though “the country still struggles to establish its national grid,” Mr Viraphonh said.
In the absence of a national transmission grid, power plant developers have to rely on establishing dedicated transmission lines connecting directly to the off-taker grid, limiting future flexibility of both the IPP and the Lao grid operator.
“The best way to manage the development of all this hydropower potential is the development of a nationalised grid interconnected with the superhighway links between the GMS countries,” he said.
The workshop was attended by development partners, potential investors and financiers to review the updated 2010-2020 power development plan.
The plan outlines system expansion for both generation and transmission, timing and financial needs and aims to ensure timely implementation of planned pipeline projects to facilitate hydropower development and power exports.
“What we do now will affect the picture of the future regional integration of the power grids into one GMS super-grid, and will shape the energy market in South East Asia for the following decades,” Mr Viraphonh said.
vientiane times
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