Economic growth sparks surge in domestic power usage
Economic growth sparks surge in domestic power usage
Electricity consumption in Laos will continue to surge this year as the government accelerates its socio-economic development programme, according to Electricite du Laos.
The state-owned enterprise, which has a monopoly on the distribution of electricity, unveiled its latest Power Development Plan recently, showing that electricity consumption will reach 1,021MW this year, about 30 perc ent more than last year.
The rapid increase in electricity consumption is largely the result of strong economic growth driven by the industry and service sectors. According to the World Bank, the Lao economy will see 8.3 percent growth this year, driving up electricity consumption.
EDL, which holds a 75 percent stake in EDL-Gen Public Company, forecasts that electricity usage will grow on average by 18 percent annually and reach 3,488MW in 2020. This is an increase of 20 percent on the previous projection, as the government is speeding up its socio-economic development programme.
The government plans to achieve economic growth of at least 8 percent annually from 2011 to 2015, aiming to establish a solid foundation for graduation from the UN's list of least developed countries in 2020.
Analysis shows that increasing electricity consu-mption will be a major boost for the power industry in upcoming years. The government is encouraging domestic companies to invest in small and medium power plants to supply electricity for the domestic market.
The government has approved an increase in usage rates. From March until the end of this year rates are set to rise by 2 percent monthly. From 2013 to 2017, rates will increase by 3 percent annually. The move aims to attract investors to build more power plants to supply the domestic market.
At present, there are 27 operational hydropower plants in Laos with installed production capacity of 2,561MW. Nine of the power plants are owned by Electricite du Laos and the EDL-Gen Public Company, and the rest are Independent Power Producers (IPP).
Most of the electricity generated is sold to other countries. Laos reimports electricity to supply the growing domestic demand.
According to a report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in the first six months of this fiscal year, Laos exported 3.79 billion kWh, 64 percent of all electricity generated, bringing in foreign exchange earnings of about US$340 million.
Laos imported about 735 million kWh from Thailand, Vietnam and China to secure electricity in border areas not accessed by the national power grid. The cost of imported electricity over the first half of this fiscal year was US$36 million.
vientiane times
