Electricity becoming a major foreign exchange earner
Electricity becoming a major foreign exchange earner
Electricity is becoming one of Laos' major foreign exchange earners, with a number of hydropower plants already commercially operational and more set to come on line soon.
According to a report from the Ministry of Planing and Investment, Laos produced 6.12 billion kWh in the last six months, accounting for 46 percent of the annual plan.
A number of hydropower plants have gone into operation in recent years. At present, Laos has more than 21 hydropower stations with a total installed capacity of 3,200 MW.
Most of the electricity generated is exported to the neighbouring countries of Thailand and Vietnam, while only 10 to 20 percent is used for domestic consumption.
The report shows that Laos earned about US$217 million from the sale of 4.5 billion kWh of electricity to other countries in the first six months of this fiscal year. Over the same period, the country imported 0.49 billion kWh from neighbouring nations. The cost of the imported power was about US$26 million.
Most of the imported electricity was channelled to provinces which have no access to the national power grid and to mega investment projects such as gold and copper mines, which consume huge amounts of power.
Energy officials said Laos would reduce electricity imports in the near future when more dams have been built. A number of hydropower stations under construction and are expected to be completed over the next five years.
In 2012, the export value of Lao electricity reached nearly US$500 million, becoming one of the major foreign exchange earners after mining and tourism. Income from the sale of electricity is expected to grow even more over the next five years.
Laos expects that installed electrical power will reach about 12,000 MW by 2020. The government aims to become a major supplier of electricity in the region. It promotes private investment in hydropower in order to expand the electricity grid to more remote areas.
Thanks to its many rivers, Laos has the potential to build more than 100 hydropower plants with a total installed capacity of about 28,000 MW.
In 2012, every district capital in Laos had permanent access to electricity. More than 74 percent of villages and about 83 percent of families nationwide can now plug an appliance into an electrical socket.
Under the government's plan, 90 percent of Lao households will have access to electricity by 2020.
vientiane times
