Energy security has been one of energy priorities for Cambodia in providing an adequate supply to meet increasing energy demand in the country. The impressive electricity access in Cambodia arose significantly from 2010 with a rate of 34% up to 98% by 2022.

However, Cambodia’s reliance on electricity imports is still considered high, with 25% of its national power sources in 2019 being imported from neighbouring countries such as Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. Meanwhile, the total electricity demand is at its peak in 2022 with approximately 16% of annual growth rate.

Moreover, Cambodia’s wide blackouts in 2013 and 2015 exposed how heavily dependent the country is on imported electricity. This disruption pressured the government to strengthen the effort to guarantee the nation’s energy security. Subsequently, Cambodia initiated the design of a Power Development Plan (PDP) for 2022-2040 to avert the next blackout and de-risking energy insecurity.

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This op-ed was published in the Phnom Penh Post. The original article can be found here.