EDL's maintenance budget shrinks
EDL's maintenance budget shrinks
The Vientiane Power Distribution Department will spend about 24 billion kip this year on the u pgrade and installation of transformers and transmission lines, hoping to reduce power outages and ensure the stable distribution of electricity in Vientiane.
Department Deputy Director Mr Sakoth Latthida said yesterday the department had received approval for 24 billion kip, which was lower than the request for 40.48 billion kip submitted to Electricite du Laos (EDL) earlier this year.
This amount is also lower than last year's expenditure, which amounted to 27 billion kip.
“24 billion kip may be sufficient for the upgrade and maintenance of the energy supply system. If not we can ask for more,” M r Sakoth said.
Based on the initial plan, 80.44 percent of the money will be used to upgrade transmission lines and 19.56 percent will be spent on transformer installation.
The department's upgrade and maintenance project aims to reduce the number of power failures and brownouts.
Some areas still experience power failures, especially in hot weather. There are also periodic overloads that cause fuses to fail.
Work to be undertaken will include the maintenance and upgrade of 22kV and 0.4kV transmission lines over distances of 254.99 km and 305.45 km respectively, along with the installation of more than 80 new transformers, according to a recent report from the department.
Last yea r, 231 transformers were scheduled to be installed or replaced including 143 that were slated for installation and another 88 that were to replace old or outdated units.
“About 30 to 40 percent of the equipment was produced and supplied locally last year,” Mr Sakoth said, adding “We don't know how much equipment will be supplied locally this year.”
In 2013, the department spent more than 18.33 billion kip on system upgrades in Vientiane, including about 3.04 billion kip on transformers and about 15.28 billion kip on transmission lines.
Power outages still occur due to the burden placed on the network by surges in consumption. This requires the annual maintenance, upgrade and installation of transformers and transmission lines.
The upgrades are being undertaken in line with EDL's annual and long term plans.
Electricity consumption is increasing by 10 to 15 percent a year in Vientiane, with planners saying the rate of consumption could jump to 20 percent.
The increase in consumption is attributed to the expansion of the city, new residential and commercial developments, population growth, and the greater use of electronic equipment.
