The ASEAN Secretariat and the International Energy Agency (IEA) jointly organised the 2^nd Workshop on the Feasibility Study for ASEAN Multilateral Power Trade in Bangkok, Thailand, on 20-21 Feb 2019, to discuss more in-depth the implications of multilateral power trade for regulators. This workshop is a continuation of the Workshop on International Best Practices in Multilateral Power Trade held on 5-6 September 2018, Jakarta, Indonesia. This Feasibility Study is under the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Programme (AADCP) Phase II, a long-term partnership programme between Australia and ASEAN to help ASEAN move closer to realise ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) post 2015.

As a regional consultant, ACE is assisting IEA in developing some parts of the study, particularly related to ASEAN. The study aims to support the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2016-2025 Phase I under Programme Area 1; ASEAN Power Grid (APG), specifically Outcome-based Strategy 2 on initiating multilateral electricity trading. The development of the feasibility study was endorsed in principle by the 8th Senior Officials Meeting on Energy – International Energy Agency (SOME-IEA) in July 2017, and acknowledged by Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities/Authorities (HAPUA) Working Committee. In this study, ACE is examining the policies, legal frameworks, and the power market structures of the AMS, in order to help determine appropriate models for developing multilateral power trade in the region.

The participants of the workshop are regulators from 8 AMS; Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. There were also representatives from HAPUA Secretariat, and the project consultants from other regions; PJM (USA), The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, the Federal Network Agency or Bundesnetzagentur (Germany), Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (India), Central American Electrical Interconnection System or Sistema de Interconexión Eléctrica de los Países de América Central (Central America), and Nord Pool Consulting (Europe). (ADP.  Featured photo credit:  ASEC)