The Special Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME) was held on 24 January 2017 in Yangon, Myanmar. The Meeting was attended by 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS) and representatives from ASEAN Specialised Energy Bodies (SEB); ASEAN Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE), Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities/Authority (HAPUA), ASEAN Forum on Coal (AFOC), and representatives from Sub-sector Networks, namely: Energy Efficiency & Conservation Sub-sector Network; Renewable Energy Sub-sector Network; Regional Energy Policy and Planning Sub-sector Network; and Nuclear Energy Cooperation Sub-sector Network.  Also in attendance were representatives from ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and ASEAN Secretariat.

The Special SOME considered the accomplishments in 2016 and priority plans in 2017 of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) programme areas, consisting of; i) ASEAN Power Grid, ii) Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline, iii) Coal and Clean Coal Technology, iv) Energy Efficiency and Conservation, v) Renewable Energy, vi) Regional Energy Policy and Planning and vii) Civilian Nuclear Energy (CNE).

Following the Meeting was the 19^th ACE Governing Council (AGC) held on 25 January 2017. The AGC meeting assessed ACE’s performance in 2016.  The AGC also discussed to agree upon ACE’s work programme and budget for 2017.

The Special SOME and the AGC Meetings are part of ASEAN’s commitment to the energy sector.  The Meetings helped the AMS to check on progress and efforts to achieve the targets set in the APAEC. By doing so, the AMS could identify ways to strengthen the energy bodies and to enrich their cooperation with Dialogue Partners, International Organisations and the private sector. (SBS. Featured photo credit:  ACE)