Spike in electricity generation drives power exports up, imports down
Spike in electricity generation drives power exports up, imports down
Laos' electricity generation in fiscal year 2015-16 saw a larger increase than in the previous fiscal year, after many new power plants became operational.
The country generated 22,606 million kWh in 2015-16, about 59 percent more than in the previous year, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
The 22,606 million kWh included 2,362 million kWh under the responsibility of Electricite du Laos (EDL) and EDL-GEN, while the remaining 20,244 million kWh was under the management of independent power producers (IPP).
Among the new energy generating plants were the Hongsa Mine Mouth Power Plant, Nam Khan 2, Nam Ngiep 2, Huay Lamphanh Yai, and Nam Ou 2, 5, and 6.
The report noted that the increase in electricity generation drove up power exports to 18,104.95 million kWh worth US$1,005.5 million last fiscal year � an increase of 73.8 percent on the previous year.
The main exporter was the Hongsa Mine Mouth Power Plant which sold 6,740 million kWh worth US$445.22 million, accounting for 44.5 percent of the export value.
The Nam Theun 2 plant sold 4,979 million kWh worth US$227.2 million, which accounted for 22.7 percent of the export value, while EDL sold 1,318.8 million kWh for US$49.4 million.
Laos sells power mainly to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Thailand is the main market, requiring up to 10,000MW, while Vietnam buys 5,000MW.
While Laos is building many power plants, most of the investment comes from foreign investors who make power purchase agreements with specific markets or buyers.
This means that not all of the generated electricity can be supplied locally. Another issue is that the development of power grid infrastructure does not cover the whole country.
For this reason some parts of the country have to import electricity from neighbouring countries and also buy electricity from independent power producers locally (to reduce imports).
In 2015-16, electricity imported from Thailand, Vietnam and China amounted to 965.3 million kWh, 42.3 percent less than in the previous year.
But electricity bought locally from 29 independent power producers increased to 3,457.1 million kWh last year, a twofold increase over the previous year.
Last year, the amount of electricity supplied locally was 4,221.3 million kWh with a value of US$374.7 million, an increase of about 12 percent.
As of August 2016, a total of 1,071,396 families had access to electricity, or 91.82 percent of all families nationwide. The government expects the figure to rise to 95 percent by 2020. In 1975, only 19,000 families or 3 percent of the population had access to electricity.
Laos currently has 42 operational power plants with an installed capacity of 6,391MW, which generate about 33,822.4GWh annually.
The number of power plants will increase from 42 to 50 as the government and private energy developers try to complete the construction of 12 new power plants which will start to generate electricity this year.
The 50 power plants will be able to generate about 30 billion kWh, of which 21,103 billion kWh will be exported and the rest will be supplied to the local grid.
Laos is aiming for a total installed capacity of about 12,000MW by 2025. The abundant resources of the Mekong River and its tributaries give Laos the potential to produce more than 25,000MW of electricity.
