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  • Electricity/Power Grid

Yangon Region losing electricity units worth over K1.6bn yearly

2 July 2019

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  • Myanmar

Government suffers losses of K1.6 billion per year as each of 45 townships in Yangon Region see loss of electricity units worth about K30 million every month, said MP Yan Aung for Mingalar Taungnyunt Township Constituency No (2).

The MP made the remark in his question about any plan to prevent electricity unit losses and in the region during a session of the Yangon Region Parliament on July 1.

“Due to technological weaknesses and human errors, malpractices occur, leading to financial losses every year. For example, Dawbon Township suffers a loss of K28 or K29 million monthly. According to released figures, there is a loss of about K37 million or K38 million a month in Pabedan Township. Calculating losses in 45 townships, there is a loss of K30 million in each township. As there are losses of 13,500 units, we are losing K1.62 billion a year. This is for Yangon Region only. A huge sum of money will be lost across the country,” said MP Yan Aung.

Yan Aung then suggested about the change of analog system into AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) digital system.

“There were cases in which electricity bills cost only K500 or a little though a lot of units have been used. Even some staff members approached some of my friends how they could help them reduce electricity charges for them,” said the MP.

The government has announced that electricity charges will increase starting from July.

  • Electricity/Power Grid

Parliament approves power projects

2 July 2019

 – 

  • Cambodia

The National Assembly yesterday unanimously approved plans by SPHP (Cambodia) to invest in a new hydroelectric dam in Pursat province, as well as plans by Schnei Tech to build solar farms in Pursat and Kampong Chhnang province.

Since power cuts began in March across the country, the government has approved several energy investments – a hydropower dam in Pursat province as well as several solar farms across the country – and increased energy imports from neighbouring countries.

Out of 125 members of parliament, 112 were present at the National Assembly session led by its president Heng Samrin yesterday.

The National Assembly spent hours debating the draft law on the SPHP (Cambodia) project and on the plans by Schnei Tech. Both draft laws were unanimously approved by the 112 CPP lawmakers present at the plenary session.

During a cabinet meeting on April 5, Prime Minister Hun Sen approved plans by SPHP (Cambodia) to invest in a new hydroelectric dam in Pursat province, as well as plans by Schnei Tech to build the solar farms in Kampong Chhnang and Pursat.

The dam in Pursat will be able to produce 80MW and will be built on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis with a total investment capital of more than $231 million. The company has been granted a 39-year concession for the project.

The solar farms will each have 60MW capacity. They will be built on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis with an investment of more than $58 million.

The government also approved Schnei Tec’s plans to expand an existing 60MW solar farm in Kampong Speu province.

Cheam Yeap, a lawmaker and chairman of the National Assembly’s Commission on Economy, Finance, Banking and Audit, said during the session that he supported the new hydroelectric dam in Pursat, which would help to boost electricity supply in the Kingdom.

He said the government has been encouraging the growth of the energy sector by wooing companies to invest in it to ensure electricity supply is sufficient, sustainable and affordable.

Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem, who attended the plenary session, said companies will solve compensation problems in acquiring land for the projects.

Lawmakers approve energy projects at the National Assembly yesterday. National assembly

He said the hydroelectric dam project in Pursat would affect the homes of 347 families and farmland that belong to 296 families totalling 5,355 hectares. Mr Sem added that 600,724 hectares of forest land would also be affected.

In response to a lawmaker’s question on the months of electricity shortages in the Kingdom recently, Mr Sem apologised to the people and blamed the shortage on natural causes.

“His excellency Kep Chuktema asked me how we can prevent future electricity cuts,” he said. “I and my colleagues at the Ministry of Mines and Energy wish to take this opportunity to apologise to our people across the country regarding the lack of electricity supply during the dry season,” he said. “Because of what? It is purely because of natural factors.”

Mr Sem noted that the Council of Ministers would be discussing another proposed solar power station project in the middle of this month and send a draft to legislative institutions for approval. He said the project would also help to reduce electricity shortages.

“In the future, we will have about 5,000-megawatts,” he said. “We wish to inform you that we already have the master plan.”

According to the Mines and Energy Ministry, Cambodia produced 2,650 megawatts of electricity last year, of which 1,329 megawatts, or 50 percent, came from hydroelectric dams.

  • Others

Thailand tops UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) rank in ASEAN

2 July 2019

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  • Thailand

BANGKOK, 1 July 2019 (NNT) – The Prime Minister is satisfied with the latest Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ranking where Thailand’s is in 40th place and the highest placed country in ASEAN.

Deputy Government Spokesman Lt Gen Werachon Sukondhapatipak said the Prime Minister has acknowledged and is satisfied with Thailand’s latest position on the UN SDGs ranking this year, on which the country’s ranking advanced by 19 positions.

The ranking, published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and Bertelsmann Stiftung Foundation, places Thailand as the top country among ASEAN members ranked.

“The Prime Minister said this success was achieved through determination and cooperation between the government, private and public sectors, as the government has given high priority to a balanced development between human resources and the environment, human resources and the reduction of inequality and human resources and technology, under the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy.”

Other ASEAN countries have also been ranked for their SDGs achievements, namely Vietnam at the 54th, Singapore at the 66th, Malaysia at the 68th, the Philippines at the 97th, Indonesia at the 102nd, Myanmar at the 110th, the Lao PDR at the 111th, Cambodia at the 112th, while Brunei has not been ranked.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership.

They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

  • Renewables

Thai Oil Giant Boosts Renewables Funding Over ‘Uncertain’ Crude Outlook

2 July 2019

 – 

  • Thailand

Thai energy conglomerate PTT Pcl is boosting investments in electricity generation, particularly renewables, given what it says is a “highly uncertain” outlook for oil over the next year.

The country’s biggest company, which is involved in everything from oil exploration and power generation to gasoline and coffee retailing, revised its 2019 capital spending plan in late June, Chief Executive Officer Chansin Treenuchagron said in an email interview. Most of the 33.2 billion baht ($1.1 billion) of extra budget will be spent on electricity projects, he said.

Buffeted by trade wars, geopolitical tension and the North American shale boom, oil faces an uncertain outlook over the next year, according to Chansin. PTT’s pivot toward renewables comes after a unit of the majority state-owned company spent $4.2 billion earlier this year buying electricity producer Glow Energy Pcl, which generates most of its power from gas and coal.

  • Renewables

Vietnamese market momentum attracts another 100 MW

2 July 2019

 – 

  • Vietnam

As the Vietnamese solar market continued to gain momentum – at least until the weekend – announcements of new projects keep pouring in.

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power has achieved commercial operation of its Vinh Hao 6 Solar project in the province of Binh Thuan and inverter maker SMA said it has inked a contract to supply seven medium voltage power stations to another 50 MW site, in Ninh Thuan province.

SMA is partnering with Vietnam Electrical Equipment Joint Stock Company subsidiary Gelex Ninh Thuan Energy One Member Limited Company for the project.

“The turnkey SMA container solution Medium Voltage Power Station 6000 (MVPS), with preconfigured, perfectly harmonized components made easy transportation, simple installation and smooth commissioning of PV farms possible,” said Duong Pham Xuan, project manager of Hanoi-based construction firm Songda 9 Construction and Investment JSC. “At the same time, power plant operator Gelex is benefiting from considerable system cost reductions and high energy yields.”

SMA said the power plant is in the southern province of Ninh Thuan. The region boasts an average of 2,600-2,800 hours of sunshine per year and has 27 solar projects with a cumulative generation capacity of 1,808 MW in the pipeline.

The inverter maker said it has already installed 500 MW of its products in Vietnam and is looking to continue to work through an extensive pipeline. In April the power electronics specialist was involved in the realization of another 54 MW solar plant, in Dak Nong, which was eligible for the $.0935 feed-in tariff.

Meanwhile, Saudi utility and developer ACWA Power said it had reached commercial operation on a 50 MW project with Fecon, a Vietnamese infrastructure construction company. The partners have together invested $58 million in the project which they expect to generate 83 million kWh per year. As the site received its certificate for commercial operation on June 18 it was also eligible for the $.0935 feed-in tariff. At that price and with project costs and generation potential taken into account, the payback period for the facility is expected to be just under 7.5 years.

June rush for FITs

As the generous incentive scheme was set to expire on Sunday, Vietnam’s government was expecting some 4 GW of solar generation capacity to be rushed towards commercial operation by that date.

Up to mid-April, Vietnam had connected only four solar plants with a cumulative capacity of 150 MW to the grid. By the end of May, however, 34 more solar plants with a cumulative capacity of 2.2 GW had been connected.

The Vietnamese government said it expected another 54 solar projects entitled to the 20-year FIT set in April 2017 to come online last month. That would mean another gigawatt or two of capacity may have been grid connected.

In a statement released in late May, the Vietnam Power Group utility said 61 projects were awaiting connection and hinted another seven FIT-eligible large scale solar plants had achieved commercial operation as staff had worked around the clock in the previous six days.

  • Electricity/Power Grid

Indonesian utility PLN to resume adjustable electricity tariffs in 2020

1 July 2019

 – 

  • Indonesia

JAKARTA, July 2 (Reuters) – State electricity utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) will return to using adjustable electricity tariffs for non-subsidised customers in 2020 after two years of flat rates, an energy ministry official said on Tuesday.

Starting next year, PLN can adjust their electricity prices every three months for customers, such as industrial users, based on the price of oil and the rupiah exchange rate, Rida Mulyana, Director General for Electricity at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry told reporters.

The decision to resume adjustable tariffs was made “so the burden to the state budget can be eased,” Mulyana said.

Indonesia decided to freeze the electricity tariff in 2017 amid sluggish consumption growth. That led to a policy of capping thermal coal prices for power generation at $70 per tonne to help PLN manage costs. (reut.rs/2oXIy2m)

Mulyana said the government has not yet decided whether the price cap on coal sold to power companies will also be changed next year.

At the time the coal price cap policy was announced in March 2018, officials said it would be reviewed in December 2019.

  • Renewables

Norway and Philippines activated 1st floating solar project

1 July 2019

 – 

  • Philippines

SN Aboitiz Power Group (SNAP), the joint venture between SN Power (Norwegian hydropower developer and investor) and Aboitiz Power Corp. (Filipino power investor) switched on its first 200-kilowatt (kw) floating solar project to provide power to SNAP-Magat’s facilities over Magat Dam, one of the largest dams in the Philippines.

At the switch-on ceremony taking place on June 28, 2019, there were Ricardo Visaya from National Irrigation Administration, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, SN Aboitiz Power CEO Joseph Yu, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, SN Power CEO Erik Knive, CEO of Aboitiz Power Corp Erramon Aboitiz and Norwegian Ambassador to Philippines Bjørn Jahnsen who together pressed the button to activate the project.

SNAP invested over $400,000 or nearly P24 million through SNAP-Magat Inc. for the facility with 2,500-square meter area over the Magat reservoir.

“The 200-kw plant supplies most of our internal household already, like the control room, all the air-conditioning, lights that Magat needs to run,” SNAP president and CEO Joseph Yu said.

(Photo: SNAP)

SNAP also joined hands with Ocean Sun, a Norwegian floating solar technology provider, to install solar panels for the pilot project on top of the water’s surface.

This installation will produce 200kW for 10 months, to test and ensure that the feasibility will survive Filipino climatic conditions like massive inflows and strong typhoons.

Once successful, SNAP plans to expand its 200-kilowatt pilot solar-power project to 20 megawatts or possibly 50 MW in the near future.

“There’s going to be more to come. Together with our partner, we’ll bring in innovative power solutions. We are very committed to renewable energy. With the launch of this floating solar project…hopefully we will be able to scale this up a little bit more,” AboitizPower president Erramon Aboitiz said.

“The plan is, over the next six months, we will go through the wet season, the rains and the storms and we’ll see how it reacts to the waves and the rain. We’d like to see strong winds to see what it can withstand,” said Joseph Yu.

The article wrote by Ambassador Bjørn Jahnsen on his linkedin highlighted the significant role of Norway in the renewable energy sector in the Philippines and that this project will mark “Norway’s biggest investment in the Philippines.”

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