The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MoEM) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization have discussed energy market development in the region.

Held on Jun 22 in Vientiane, the Laos International Power Summit 2017 was attended by Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Sinava Souphanouvong and representatives of the electricity power industry and international organisations.

“This two-day meeting aims to gather government officials, policy makers, electricity entrepreneurs both public and private, investors and representatives of the service sector to exchange ideas and discus the power market development in the region, issues facing the power industry and advancement of the regional power industry,” said Mr Sinava.

Held under the theme‘Enhancing Interconnectivity, Powering Sustainable Growth’, the meeting provided the participants with the opportunity to discuss a number of topicswith respect to policies, regulations on electricity investment, electricity purchasing and risk management, electricity generation and renewable energy development,  project budget allocation,  power  transmission and distribution grids, and thermal power generation.

“Lao PDR has a rich potential for hydro power development. As of 2016, there are 45 power plants with a combined generation capacity of 6,441 mw. These include 42 hydropower projects with a combined installed generation capacity of over 4,530 mw, sharing more than 70.45 percent of power generated in the country,” said Deputy Director of Energy Policy and Planning Department  Khamso Kouphokam. 

As the power generation industry is dominated by hydropower plants, there isonly one coal fired power plant: the Hongsa Thermal Plant with an installed generation capacity of 1875 mw and two biomass powered plants with a combined generation capacity of 25mw. The latter two represent only 0.39 percent of energy generated in the country.

Source:
courtesy of KPL NEWS AGENCY

by Manythone Keolangsy

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