Laos sees high growth in electricity production

Laos' electricity generation in 2015-2016 fiscal year saw a high increase after many new power plants became operational, pushing the growth of electricity exports.

The Southeast Asian country generated 22,606 million kWh in 2015-2016, some 59 percent higher than in the previous fiscal year, according to the latest report from Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines.

The report noted that the increase in electricity generation drove up power exports to 18,104.95 million kWh worth over 1 billion U.S. dollars last fiscal year, an increase of 73.8 percent over the previous year, Lao state-run Vientiane Times quoted the ministry as saying on Friday.

The main exporter was the Hongsa Mine Mouth Power Plant which sold 6,740 million kWh worth 445.22 million U.S. dollars, accounting for some 44.5 percent of the export value.

Laos sells power mainly to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Thailand is the main market, requiring up to 10,000 MW, while Vietnam buys 5,000 MW.

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 neighboring countries and buy electricity from independent power producers locally to reduce imports.

In 2015-2016, electricity imported from Thailand, Vietnam and China amounted to 965.3 million kWh, a decrease of 42.3 percent compared to the previous fiscal year.

Last year, the amount of electricity supplied locally was 4,221.3 million kWh with a value of 374.7 million U.S. dollars, an increase of about 12 percent.

As of August 2016, a total of 1,071,396 families in Laos 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 three percent of the population had access to electricity.

The abundant resources of the Mekong River and its tributaries give Laos the potential to produce more than 25,000 MW of electricity.

Earlier on Tuesday this week, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen visited the site of Don Sahong hydropower plant that is currently under construction on the Mekong River in Lao's southern Champassak province to assess progress. The Don Sahong plant will generate electricity for local supply and to other countries.

According to Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs, construction of the dam is expected to be complete by the end of 2019.

The dam will have an installed capacity of 260MW and will generate about 2,000 GWh a year.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam gathered for a Mekong River Commission Secretariat meeting in Lao capital Vientiane to start the first meeting of the Joint Committee Working Group (JCWG) on the Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement for the Pak Beng hydropower project.

The Pak Beng hydropower project has been proposed on the Mekong mainstream in the northern territory of Laos. The run-of-river project with capacity of 912 MW and average annual generation of 4,775 GWh is expected to produce power for domestic supply and export, reported Lao state-run news agency KPL on Friday.

Laos currently has 42 operational power plants with an installed capacity of 6,391MW, which generate about 33,822.4 GWh 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 new power plants which will 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 12,000 MW by 2025.