Hun Sen warns cash-strapped ministries to watch air-con bills

Nov 30, 2010
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told government staff they must stay within budget for electricity use or take pay cuts to compensate for any overruns, local media reported Tuesday.

He was speaking at the inauguration of a ministry building on Monday.

'Starting today, if ministries have electricity costs such as those from air-conditioning higher than the target in their budget, the minister (and deputy ministers) will face a three-month salary cut,' Hun Sen said, according to the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.

He said officials who objected to having their salaries cut were welcome to quit, and promised to monitor the electricity usage of the worst offending ministries.

Most of Cambodia's electricity is imported from neighbouring countries. Electricity prices, which are among the highest in the region, are regularly cited as a barrier to investment.

Cambodia spends 59 mln USD to import electricity in 2009

PHNOM PENH, Mar. 15, 2010 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia spent 59 million U.S. dollars on electricity imports from Thailand and Vietnam last year, local media reported on Monday, citing figures of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy.

The Kingdom purchased 226.76 billion kilowatt-hours in 2009 from Thailand for 19 million U.S. dollars, and 500.74 billion kWh from Vietnam for 40 million U.S. dollars.

New factories and apartment buildings had led to rising electricity demands, Ty Thany, director of the Department of Finance and Price Setting at the ministry was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying.

"We will import 25 to 30 percent (of our electricity supply) for this year in order to reduce costly local power generation," Ty Thany was quoted as saying.

Cambodia buys electricity from Thailand at 2.7 baht (0.083 U.S. dollar) per kWh and from Vietnam at 0.08 U.S. dollar per kWh compared with a cost of 0.18-0.20 U.S. dollar per kWh using oil- powered generators.

"We may be able to reduce imports of electricity in 2013 because we will have hydroelectric dams and coal power plants to generate electricity by ourselves then," he added.

The Ministry of Industry forecasts that Cambodia will require about 400 megawatts of electricity this year, 50 percent more than current domestic supply.

Power plan offers light relief to Cambodia

Frequent blackouts force households to eat by candlelight

Wednesday, 29 July 2009
By Guy Delauney
BBC News, Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh comes alive in the early evening. The sweltering heat of daytime dies down a little, giving people a chance to venture outside without immediately becoming drenched in sweat.

It is a time to enjoy the streetside restaurants, and browse through the shops and markets. But all too often this pleasure is interrupted by a familiar, unwelcome event known locally as a "daipleung".

Cafes go dark, music cuts out abruptly and whole streets erupt in groans and shrieks of dismay.

Once again Phnom Penh's electricity supply has proved unequal to the demands of a growing, increasingly power-hungry city.

Struggling to cope

Three decades of war left Cambodia's infrastructure damaged and dilapidated.

The return of peace has brought double-digit growth over most of the past decade, but the spread of new industries, air conditioners and electronic equipment has left the national electricity company struggling to cope.

"If you look at developed countries, annual growth in demand is in single digits, but we've been facing a 20 to 25% increase; that's a big jump," says the government official in charge of Electricite du Cambodge (EDC), Keo Rottanak.

"That increase in demand gives us a tremendous burden. There is not enough generation and no grid to distribute to different locations when there's a shortage."

Generating demand

The impact on business is considerable. Without a reliable mains electricity supply, companies are left with two choices; buy a generator or face a shutdown every time there is a blackout.

Large-scale enterprises like garment factories and big hotels generally opt for the generator.

The fuel costs incurred are considerable - but still preferable to losing customers because orders are not ready on time or guest rooms lack power.

Smaller businesses have more of a dilemma.

Ngaiy Tan Hun's family noodle-making business in the centre of Phnom Penh is typically ill-equipped to deal with prolonged blackouts.

"When there's a power cut production stops," she says.

"On a normal day we can cope with power cuts - but during festival and holiday times demand increases and so blackouts then are big problem."

Symbol of hope

Phnom Penh is in fact better off than most of Cambodia.

Only about a fifth of the population has access to mains electricity. The rest make do with expensive local supplies driven by generators, or run small appliances and lights from 12-volt car batteries.

The dearth of power is a major disincentive to investors.

Apart from the garment industry, there is little large-scale manufacturing in Cambodia.

"People who have been looking for power will have their dreams come true" - Keo Rottanak, Electricite du Cambodge

Reliable, affordable electricity may help to bring in more industries, and give the country's growth-base some sorely-needed diversity.

So the pylons which are steadily marching their way from the border with Vietnam towards Phnom Penh are a symbol of hope.

Cambodia's larger neighbour will supply the power which could bring an end to the blackouts - and electricity to areas which previously had none.

Light relief

The deal was brokered by the Asian Development Bank, which also put up around half of the $100m (£61m) it cost to erect the pylons, connect the power lines and build the substations.

It should be just a matter of weeks before the project goes live.

"Immediately we will be able to supplement what we are short of now," says EDC's Keo Rottanak.

"It is the first segment of a national grid that we have ever had in Cambodian history. People who have been looking for power will have their dreams come true."

There may still be power cuts as the new system is brought online, but they should be the last blackouts Phnom Penh will see for some time.

That will be a relief for families and businesses alike, though not perhaps for the sellers of generators and emergency lights.

Vietnam still suffers occasional blackouts of its own, making the sale of power to its neighbour a little ironic.

But the new transmission lines run both ways. So if, in the future, Cambodia has a power surplus it should be able to return the favour.

More hydropower plants sought [in Thailand]

Monday January 07, 2008
YUTHANA PRAIWAN
Bangkok Post

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) will propose that the new government approve the building of new hydro-electric plants countrywide, says Suttipong Teppitak, deputy governor for policy and planning at the state utility.

''Based on our research, Thailand still has potential to build 4,000 megawatts of hydro-electricity at many sites across country,'' he said.

Mr Suttipong said hydro-electricity was one of the best choices for sustainable energy and was very cost-competitive. It can also help alleviate climate change problems, something plants using fossil fuels cannot do.

However, even hydro-electric dams are likely to encounter opposition from environmental activists, who have succeeded in blocking some coal-powered plants and are gearing up to oppose the government's nuclear-power plans as well.

The newest hydro-electric plant in Thailand is the Pak Moon Dam in Ubon Ratchathani, which opened in 1993 and has been the target of local fishermen and other activists ever since.

Mr Suttipong said Egat had identified appropriate sites for hydro-power, including 240 megawatts on the Pai River in Mae Hong Son, 56 MW at Sai Buri in Narathiwat, 80 MW on the Kaeng Krung River in Surat Thani, and huge potential on the Yom River in northern Thailand.

Egat is now installing electricity generators at its six mini-dams nationwide, which were built to ease the threat posed to farmers by floods. They also generate a combined of 78 MW of power.

Mr Suttipong said that clearing a forested area for a hydro-power plant represented less damage to the environment than what was caused by emissions from a similar-sized plant using fossil fuels.

Egat points to the success of its 30- year-old Bhumibol dam plant, where electricity production costs are only 0.60 baht a kilowatt-hour (unit) compared to 1.80 baht for a coal-fired plant and 2.20 baht one fuelled by natural gas.

But it is not clear whether the new government will continue to pursue the policies of its predecessor, or what kinds of fuels policymakers will favour.

Egat also will seek to amend parts of the national power development plan (PDP) to reflect an increase beyond its original projections for power supplies from neighbouring countries, based on new power purchase agreements.

According to the revised PDP, imports from neighbouring countries would total 14,600 MW, which accounts for 25.4% of total power capacity. The figure includes 7,000 MW from Laos, compared with 2,000 MW planned originally.

Egat is also counting on having 4,000 MW available from the huge Salween dam in Burma, starting between 2017 and 2020. As well, the coal-fired Koh Kong plant in Cambodia is scheduled to deliver 3,600 MW between 2019 and 2021.

The revised plan will still call for 4,000 MW supplied by a nuclear plant starting in 2020-21, and 1,400 MW from independent power producers in a new round of bids for power supplies to start in 2017-19.