Myanmar cuts power for industrial zones
Suffering from sever power undersupply, Myanmar has been forced to start cutting power to the country’s industrial zones by 7 hours per day effective from January 1, 2013.
The Yangon Electricity Supply Board publicly announced the outages and warned companies that “electricity will be cut for from 4pm to 11pm daily”.
The board said factories were given due notice so that they could prepare their diesel generators ahead of the outages. Cold-storage industries, bakery businesses and plastics factories will be most affected. The outages are set to worsen and affect residents during the coming dry season, when Yangon’s chronic electricity shortages usually become particularly pressing.
About 70 per cent of Myanmar’s current energy supply comes from hydro power and 30 per cent comes from coal, but production is far below the needs of the country. During the hot season, water levels in hydro power stations drop due to droughts and power output of the stations falls sharply.
In May 2012, power cuts sparked big protests in Mandalay and Yangon with thousands of people marching to demand uninterrupted energy supply. About 75 per cent of Myanmar’s 60 million people are without regular electricity, according to the Asian Development Bank.
“Power cuts to industries were being implemented in order to be able to provide power to the public in the dry season,” the Yangon Electricity Supply Board said.
Yangon alone is in need for an estimated $237 million for infrastructure refurbishment and expansion work for the power grid in the 2013-2016 period.
The country now aims to construct its first 500 kilovolt power grid in 2013 with investment of $290 million from three countries, the government announced.
The power grid will span a total of 420 kilometers. Serbia will invest $116 million to complete the first phase. The second phase will be developed with funding of $87.75 million from South Korea’s Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development. The third phase of the project, comprising construction of three power plants, will be funded by Japan’s office of Overseas Development Assistance.
[caption id="attachment_6203" align="alignleft" width="300"] Myanmar's hydro power output is set to drop sharply in the dry season[/caption] Suffering from sever power undersupply, Myanmar has been forced to start cutting power to the country's industrial zones by 7 hours per day effective from January 1, 2013. The Yangon Electricity Supply Board publicly announced the outages and warned companies that “electricity will be cut for from 4pm to 11pm daily". The board said factories were given due notice so that they could prepare their diesel generators ahead of the outages. Cold-storage industries, bakery businesses and plastics factories will be most affected. The...
Suffering from sever power undersupply, Myanmar has been forced to start cutting power to the country’s industrial zones by 7 hours per day effective from January 1, 2013.
The Yangon Electricity Supply Board publicly announced the outages and warned companies that “electricity will be cut for from 4pm to 11pm daily”.
The board said factories were given due notice so that they could prepare their diesel generators ahead of the outages. Cold-storage industries, bakery businesses and plastics factories will be most affected. The outages are set to worsen and affect residents during the coming dry season, when Yangon’s chronic electricity shortages usually become particularly pressing.
About 70 per cent of Myanmar’s current energy supply comes from hydro power and 30 per cent comes from coal, but production is far below the needs of the country. During the hot season, water levels in hydro power stations drop due to droughts and power output of the stations falls sharply.
In May 2012, power cuts sparked big protests in Mandalay and Yangon with thousands of people marching to demand uninterrupted energy supply. About 75 per cent of Myanmar’s 60 million people are without regular electricity, according to the Asian Development Bank.
“Power cuts to industries were being implemented in order to be able to provide power to the public in the dry season,” the Yangon Electricity Supply Board said.
Yangon alone is in need for an estimated $237 million for infrastructure refurbishment and expansion work for the power grid in the 2013-2016 period.
The country now aims to construct its first 500 kilovolt power grid in 2013 with investment of $290 million from three countries, the government announced.
The power grid will span a total of 420 kilometers. Serbia will invest $116 million to complete the first phase. The second phase will be developed with funding of $87.75 million from South Korea’s Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development. The third phase of the project, comprising construction of three power plants, will be funded by Japan’s office of Overseas Development Assistance.
