EDL eyes electricity expansion
EDL eyes electricity expansion
Electricite Du Laos (EDL) is set to expand the installed and generated capacity of electricity in a bid to supply growing local consumption and exports, according to EDL's latest report.
EDL held their annual meeting last week to review past achievements and outline the strategic plan for 2017.
According to the report by EDL Managing Director Mr Boun Oum Syvanpheng, the power generator recorded outstanding achievements over the past year, especially in management, energy supply and electricity maintenance.
�One of the most important highlights is that we supplied electricity to various important Asean meetings in Vientiane and will continue to seek funds to develop the electricity system in Laos.�
Laos currently has a total of 50 power plants with an installed capacity of 6,385.41MW including investment projects by the government and domestic and overseas businesses.
In 2016, the purchased power and domestically generated energy was recorded at 7,568.59 million kWh.
As of August 2016, some 1,071,396 families had access to electricity, or 91.82 percent of all families nationwide. The government expects that figure to rise to 95 percent by 2020.
Over four decades ago, only 19,000 families or 3 percent of the population had access to electricity.
The electricity grid covers 148 districts throughout the country and 92.05 percent of the population has access to the grid.
Laos sells power mainly to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Thailand is the main market, requiring up to 10,000MW, while Vietnam buys 5,000MW.
At present, several power plants are under construction which the government and private energy developers expect to complete by 2020.
Once operational, they will have an installed capacity of 6,641.9MW and will generate around 31,680.1 GWh per year.
While Laos is building many power plants, most of the funding 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.
Nevertheless, the government is still 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.
