Photo 1. Group Photo of AIMS III Phase 3 Consultation Workshop participants 

As part of the ASEAN Power Grid-Advancement Program (APG-AP), the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) in collaboration with the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership of the United Nations Office for Project Services (ETP-UNOPS),  Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy (CASE) for Southeast Asia, and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) successfully facilitated the Consultation Workshop for AIMS III Phase 3 from 18 to 20 February 2025 held in Bangkok, Thailand. The three-day workshop brought together representatives from all ten (10) ASEAN Member States (AMS) under the AIMS III Phase 3 Working Group to leverage regional grid interconnectivity and technical harmonisation in enhancing multilateral power trade (MPT) in ASEAN. The objective of the consultation workshop was to promote progress in the development of the APG through four key Outputs, specifically on the analytical work for AIMS Ill Phase 3 (Output 3) through the development of a concrete pilot project that expand MPT in ASEAN (Output 4). The workshop was also organised to support the implementation of action plan under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) Programme Area No. 1: ASEAN Power Grid. 

Day 1, 18 February 2025 – Work package 1: Minimum Requirements for MPT 

Photo 2. Opening Remarks by Dato’ Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director of ACE 

The first day commenced with a remark from Dato’ Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director of ACE, who gave a warm welcome to all esteemed AMS, development partners and consultants to acknowledge the significant participation and contribution in this workshop in gathering valuable feedback from AMS for AIMS III Phase 3 study. He also addressed ACE commitments in this work to accelerate the clean energy deployment in Southeast Asia and reinforcing AIMS III Phase 3 as a key reference for operationalizing the Enhanced APG MoU.

 Photo 3. Scene Setting by Nadhilah Shani, Senior Research Analyst on Power at ACE 

Nadhilah Shani, Senior Research Analyst on Power at ACE delivered a scene-setting presentation to provide the latest development of AIMS III Phase 3 as output 3 of APG-AP. She shared that after the completion of the output 2 (Roadmap for MPT in ASEAN), ACE, APG-AP partners and AIMS III Phase 3 Working Group are conducting analytical work for output 3 while also preparing for output 4, which involves preliminary work for MPT Pilot Project Implementation. She also highlighted that this consultation workshop allowed the APG-AP consultants to gather inputs from each AIMS III Phase 3 Working Group based on the expected work product from each work packages in AIMS III Phase 3 study.  

As discussed during the APG-AP Meeting Series last year in Indonesia, two consultants support the analytical work of AIMS III Phase 3. One of them, Ricardo PLC, took the lead on the first day of the consultation workshop, focusing on Work Package 1 on the minimum requirements for MPT in ASEAN. Representatives from Ricardo PLC presented the result of ASEAN’s interconnectivity status, market structures, and key mechanisms, such as congestion management, wheeling charges, and third-party access that were drawn from regional experiences in the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power integration Project (LTMS-PIP) and international experience which serves as a reference for developing a regional MPT framework. 

Photo 4. Breakout session on Work Package 1 

In the subsequent session, Ricardo PLC facilitated a breakout session where members of AIMS III Phase 3 Working Group discussed perspectives on regulatory frameworks, tariff mechanisms, and cross-border transmission capacities aimed to clarify aspects of existing national power systems and markets based on questions raised in the WP1 presentations. 

Day 2, 19 February 2025 – Work package 2: Advancing ASEAN-wide Integrated Resource and Resilience Planning (IRRP) 

Following the in-depth discussion on MPT requirements in the first day, the second day shifted into the work package 2 of Integrated Resource and Resilience Planning (IRRP). Led by DNV, the day began with the session explored in regional governance mechanisms, planning methodologies, and resilience strategies to develop a harmonised long-term energy planning approach within the region. 

Photo 5. Breakout sessions on Work Package 2 

Representatives from DNV and ACE facilitated the breakout sessions, which enabled AIMS III Phase 3 Working Group members to refine planning methodologies, assess potential challenges and discuss governance structures that are essentials for facilitating regional power trade. A key outcome from this session was the consensus that harmonising power sector planning processes across ASEAN would accelerate interconnection projects and improve long-term energy security, particularly in addressing supply-demand imbalances and climate resilience. 

Day 3, 20 February 2025 – Work package 3: Grid Code Harmonisation and Technical Standards 

Building on the strategic planning from Day 2, the final day shifted into the Work Package 3 (WP3), which aimed at harmonising grid codes and technical standards to strengthen operational reliability for cross-border power exchange. DNV continued to lead the session with more detailed presentation on aligning the grid codes, addressed minimum technical requirements and institutional arrangements which aimed to uncover underlying aspects of grid harmonisation to enhance cross-border reliability and efficiency. 

DNV provided a technical presentations and case studies to outline the key lessons from existing interconnectors, identifying gaps in regulatory alignment, operational standards, and governance mechanisms. The third day bilateral discussions were also conducted with the AIMS III Phase 3 Working Group, focusing on closing data gaps and sharing national experiences in interconnector operations. 

Photo 6. Breakout sessions on Work Package 3

In the following session, Yejin Ha from UN-ESCAP addressed the update on the proposed ASEAN MPT Pilot Project, highlighting the next steps for implementation. She outlined how insights from the consultation would shape the development of a concrete pilot project in advancing MPT, forming the fourth output of APG-AP. She also underscored key learnings from this consultation, where AIMS III Phase 3 Working Group expressed a clear desire for having an ongoing information and knowledge sharing toward the key issues such as finance, markets, institutions and key benefits for MPT. 

The consultation workshop was concluded by Shani, who summarised the workshop’s findings and outlined the next steps for AIMS III Phase 3 development. She emphasised the importance of establishing the Technical Review Group (TRG) to provide expert insights, validate findings, and refine deliverables for the AIMS III Phase 3 study. 

Technical inputs from the Working Group will be integrated into the next phase of the AIMS III Phase 3 Study and later advocated through the APG Enhanced MoU to ensure alignment towards MPT and regional grid integration. Moving forward, the AIMS III Phase 3 Working Group will continue refining technical, regulatory, and governance frameworks with the extended experts. 

ACE will continue to lead efforts in fostering strong collaboration and commitment between AMS with support from development partners to facilitate technical discussions and intergovernmental cooperation in advancing MPT. Through continued collaboration, the outcomes of this study will be instrumental in shaping the AIMS III Phase 3 Study, driving towards a more interconnected and clean energy transition in ASEAN.