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dam-l LS: 2 articles on ASEAN power interconnection
BKK Post / Thursday, April 27, 2000
ENERGY
Asean power chiefs act on regional grid
Cross-border line connections are seen as first step
Boonsong Kositchotethana
Leaders of Asean power utilities yesterday adopted the concept of forming
business-oriented organisations to invest and operate inter-country power
transmission lines in Southeast Asia.
The concept, devised at a meeting of chief executives of Asean power
utilities and authorities, is one of the elements being pondered to provide
an impetus to realise the ambitious "Asean grid" plan to inter-connect power
lines in the 10 Asean member states.
"We agree that forming the organisations is workable and should be
pursued strenuously," said Viravat Chlayon, governor of the Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat).
A committee comprising experts from member states was formed yesterday to
explore the possibilities of the concept as well as work out details. Heads
of Asean power utilities will consult their governments on the concept.
According to Mr Viravat, the transmission line organisations may
initially cover the investment and operation of the bilateral cross-country
system.
Thailand's power grid is already linked with lines from Malaysia and
Laos. Plans are also afoot for Thailand to extend the link with Cambodia and
Burma as the country moves to export electrical power to those countries.
The other cross-border interconnection already in place is the link
between Malaysia and Singapore.
Heads of Asean power utilities have aspirations to put an Asean power
grid fully in place in the next two decades under the so-called Asean Vision
2020. At the Chiang Rai meeting, Thailand is pushing itself as a focal point
for the interconnection of power grids in the Asean region.
The Thai proposal to develop an "Asian pool" is high on the agenda of the
meeting which has served as a forum for the Asean power utilities to discuss
issues involving co-operation and development of electrical power systems in
the region. Sivavong Changkasiri, chairman of Egat, said the region's energy
demand was likely to outgrow production by a wide margin in spite of the
current economic downturn and slow demand growth. The current low energy
demand would somewhat moderate the need to build energy-related
infrastructure, at least in the short term.
"In view of the projected increase in energy demand, unless capacity
expansion is carried out in a timely manner, bottlenecks could develop in
energy supply systems, as each Asian economy rebounds from the financial
crisis," Mr Viravat warned.
The economic crisis in 1997 slowed growth in energy demand, creating
lower energy prices as well as the delay or cancellation of investment
projects such as power plants and trans-boundary pipelines.
Mr Sivavong suggested concern about key issues such as securing adequate
energy resources to meet demand during the recovery, promoting regulatory
reform, developing an Asean power grid and minimising environmental
degradation resulting from energy production, was important.
http://www.bangkokpost.net/today/270400_Business08.html
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The Nation / Saturday, April 29, 2000
Asean power alliance seen by 2017
ASEAN's flagship power cooperative should be ready by 2017 to service a
power transaction between Thailand and southern China, said Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) governor Viravat Chlayon.
The Chiang Rai-Asean Interconnection grid is slated for completion before
2020, the deadline set by Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said
Viravat at a press conference for the 16th meeting of the Heads of Asean
Power Utilities Authority (HAPUA).
"We (Egat) expect the Asean interconnection route to facilitate the
purchase of electricity from hydro power projects in Chiang Rung, China,''
he said.
In 2017, power supplies from China will start at 1,500 megawatts and
later double.
Egat is considering two routes to accommodate the power supply from
China. One passes through Laos and the other runs through Burma, he said.
Laos and Burma plan to sell 3,000mw of electricity to Egat in 2008 and
2010, respectively, Viravat said.
Laos would be pleased to allow Thailand to install power transmission
lines to serve the supply from China, said Kamphone Saignasane, deputy
general manager of Electricity de Laos.
The project will likely benefit Laos by strengthening the power supply
system in the northern part of the country, Kamphone said.
There have been few structural developments for power supply in that
area, he added.
The Asean interconnection grid was widely debated at the meeting, which
included 60 delegates from every Asean member except Burma. The forum agreed
in principle to set up a joint venture company by HAPUA member utilities to
implement the project.
The working group, chaired by Egat's Prutichai Chonglertvanichkul and
nominated representatives from member utilities, was formed during an
Interconnection Master Plan study, said Viravat.
Other cooperative projects include the development of micro-hydro power
projects, combined-cycle power plants, the establishment of an Electric
Power Information Centre and rural and urban electrification.
Regarding the progress of the electricity industry's reform among HAPUA
members, Viravat said Singapore is considered the most advanced country in
terms of its power supply industry.
Vietnam's power generation and distribution overhaul has been underway
since the early 1990s, said Hoang Trung Hai, president and chief executive
officer of Electricity of Vietnam.
Private producers supply 6.5 per cent of Vietnam's electricity and 60 per
cent of power transmission in rural areas, he said.
Malaysia and Indonesia are in the process of selecting the best models
for their power industry reforms while Brunei's is undergoing privatisation.
Cambodia is paving the way for competition in the power market with the
launch of a supporting law by the end of this year.
The seventeenth HAPUA meeting will be held in Vietnam.
BY NAREERAT WIRIYAPONG
The Nation