Electrifying Myanmar

By Sun Guangyong

Chinese aid in bringing electricity to everyone in Myanmar by 2030

“We dont even have a stable flow of power when everything is working， and we endure frequent outages，” sighed U Piao Mo， manager of Pyi Shwe Theingha Hotel， the largest hotel in Shwebo， Sagaing Region of Myanmar. “Basically， we cannot use electricity during the day.” When travelers check out of the hotel， the manager is used to apologizing for the inconvenience of several power failures throughout the stay.

U Piao Mo often gifts a bag of rice to visitors with the claim that “rice from Sagaing Region is the best in Myanmar.” According to him， Sagaing is known for rich agricultural products， but many cannot be deeply processed due to inadequate electric power. “Next year， we definitely wont have any outages because a large transformer substation is being built on the outskirts of the city，” he said with excitement.

Perplexity of Power Shortage

During this writers two days in Shwebo， power outages occurred on a daily basis in hotels， restaurants， companies and schools. Many shops were equipped with generators， but the excessive noise and the expensive fuel annoy both customers and shop owners.

To realize the goal of fully electrifying Myanmar by the year 2030， the Myanmar government is formulating various power development programs including the development of hydroelectric， gas-fired power generation， wind power and solar power generation.

As the largest foreign investment source country of Myanmars electric power industry， China is actively cooperating with Myanmar to resolve the power shortage problem as soon as possible and has conducted comprehensive cooperation with Myanmar in fields of power supply construction， power transmission and distribution， technology transfer and training， so that electric power cooperation between China and Myanmar will benefit the Myanmar people.

Myanmars electric power resources and natural gas reserves are extremely abundant， but its development of electric power sources is lacking. Only 34 percent of the countrys population has access to electricity. As of the end of 2016， the total installed capacity of power generation in Myanmar was just 5，380 megawatts， and the electricity load in Yangon accounted for more than 40 percent of the countrys total installed capacity of power generation， followed by the Mandalay Region， which accounted for about 30 percent of Myanmars total. To date， more than 60 percent of cities and regions in the country still lack access to a consistent electricity supply.

Hundreds of households and a technical college lie in a village on the outskirts of Shwebo， where villagers are still plagued by frequent power shortages. Mangtongs family runs a small shop at the village entrance， and even during the holidays when the college closes， their sales can reach 40，000 to 50，000 Myanmar Kyat （US$30.8 to US$38.5） every day. In the shop was a freezer covered with dust. Inside it， many drinks were soaked in cold water.

“Electricity became available in our village three years ago， but the voltage was not enough， so the refrigerator could never operate normally，” Mangtong grimaces. “And the power cuts caused rice to come out of our cooker still raw.”

A neighbor of Mangtong， Mingang has a solar panel installed that supplies power through a thick wire to a storage battery next to a window. “When the sun comes out， it charges and can be used at night for a while，” Mingang explained. “But a storage battery wears out after several years， and without money for a replacement， my children will have to do their homework by candlelight or oil lamp.”

Helping Myanmars Electricity Industry

The suburban large-scale transformer substation mentioned by U Piao Mo is a 230-kilovolt power transmission and transformation project linking to main grid network in Sagaing Region by China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co.， Ltd. It is one of the key projects for infrastructure construction in northern Myanmar in recent years. This backbone of the power transmission program includes constructing two electric transmission lines with a total length of 300 kilometers， building a new transformer substation and expanding a transformer substation. The project is planned to be completed and begin operation in 2019， with an annual transmission capacity of approximately 300 megawatts， which can meet the electricity demands of 5 million households in Myanmar.

Construction of electric power capacity in Myanmar has been dragging the pace of economic development because the government lacks funds and related technologies. The countrys abundant hydroelectric resources are located far from the central areas that consume the most electricity， and the grid is weak with meager management. The new project starts from Tarpein Hydropower Plant in Kachin State and ends in a city near Mandalay. It is an important part of Myanmars “north-to-south power transmission” program and will facilitate connection between the power grid in northern Myanmar and the national grid of Myanmar to effectively solve the power transmission failure due to the backward grid connection of hydroelectric plants in northern Myanmar， which will greatly alleviate power shortages in southern Myanmar and drive the rapid development of economics， education and culture in central Myanmar.

At the construction site of the transformer substation in Shwebo， many huge concrete pillars were neatly buried five meters into the ground by workers from both China and Myanmar. The main structure of transformer substation began to take shape. In the future， 230-kilovolt high-voltage electricity will be converted to low voltage electricity here before entering the urban power distribution network and providing power to 516 nearby villages that have not yet accessed electricity.

After Myanmar recently began implementing an economic reform plan， its economic development has accelerated and power consumption has been increasing at an annual rate of more than 30 percent. So the development of electric power has become a pressing need， which is also one of the key areas of Myanmar governments reform and development plan.

Strengthening electric power cooperation is an important issue for China and Myanmar to jointly implement the Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Hong Liang admitted that because Myanmar suffers from power shortages， its economic development and improvement in living standards are severely constrained. China， Myanmars close and friendly neighbor with a strong electric power industry on a global scale， has the ability， willingness and confidence to help Myanmar develop its power industry to benefit its people.

Electricity Access for All

“It is a glorious mission of the Union Ministry of Electricity and Energy （UMEE） to ensure every citizen of Myanmar access to electricity，” declared U Win Khaing， minister of UMEE. In addition to hydroelectric generation， Myanmar is also constantly developing natural gas， wind power， solar power and other energy sources to enhance the countrys power supply capacity.

Many Chinese enterprises have actively participated in the electric power industry in Myanmar to improve the situation. In Myitkyina， Mandalay， Sagaing， Yangon and Kyaukpyu from the north to the south， Chinese workers are everywhere jointly developing the power industry should-to-shoulder with the people of Myanmar.

The largest city in Myanmar， Yangon has developed rapidly. More than 6 million of Myanmars total 53 million people live in Yangon Region. When total demand for electricity in the country was 3，200 megawatts， demand for electricity in Yangon Region reached 1，360 megawatts， accounting for more than 40 percent of the countrys total demand. To improve electricity supply in Yangon Region， the Myanmar government planned and built five natural gas-fired power plants in the region.

On March 17， the first phase of a Sino-Myanmar joint natural gas project in Thaketa was finished， which has a planned installed capacity of 500 megawatts. The first phase with an installed capacity of 106 megawatts has been officially put into operation， which is expected to transmit at least 720 million kilowatt-hours each year to Myanmars power grid， accounting for approximate 10 percent of on-grid electricity in Yangon.

According to U Than Zaw Oo， director of Directorate of Investment and Company Administration at Sagaing Region Office， China Three Gorges Corporation （CTGC） plans to invest in construction of a solar power plant in Sagaing with an installed capacity of 300 megawatts. CTGC has already submitted an application to the UMEE for the establishment of a factory and conducted talks with the regional government. Construction can begin after the implementation plan is certified by the UMEE.

Potential hydropower generation in Myanmar is 108，000 megawatts， most of which is located in northern Myanmar， where Chinese enterprises have actively participated in the construction of hydroelectric plants. In Myitkyina， the capital of Kachin State， locals have 24-hour access to electricity thanks to the Chipwi Nge Hydropower Station built by State Power Investment Corporation Limited. The hydroelectric plant has an installed capacity of 99 megawatts and an annual power generation of 599 million kilowatt-hours. The current power supply covers areas such as Chipwi， Myitkyina and Mohnyin and has become an important source of electricity in northern Myanmar.

By the end of 2016， Myanmar had a total installed capacity of 5，389 megawatts， and hydroelectric was the most important form of power generation， accounting for 60.4 percent of the countrys total installed capacity； followed by natural gas， accounting for 35.6 percent of the total installed capacity. The China-Myanmar gas pipeline has made great contributions to alleviating the power shortages in Myanmar， providing quality energy for the region， promoting the economic development of Myanmar and improving the living standards of the local people.

Eliminating Power Shortages

“As of March 31， China-Myanmar gas pipeline had cumulatively transported 2.35 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Myanmar， fueling three power plants including those in Kyaukpyu and Mandalay. The planned installed capacity of the plant in Kyaukpyu is 100 megawatts and 110 megawatts in Mandalay，” revealed Li Wenbin， deputy general manager of China-Myanmar gas pipeline at China National Petroleum Corporation （CNPC） International Pipeline Co.， Ltd.

In September 2013， 40 days after the China-Myanmar gas pipeline began operation， Kyaukpyu， in Rakhine State in southern Myanmar， became the first stop to receive natural gas from the China-Myanmar gas pipeline and distribute it to local natural gas-fired power plants. Residents electricity consumption increased from three to four hours a day in the past to an all-day power supply， and the cost of electricity generated by natural gas was also greatly reduced. “In the past， all cities and towns in Rakhine State depended on diesel generators，” said a local official. “With the natural gas provided by the China-Myanmar gas pipeline， Kyaukpyu became the first city in Rakhine State to use natural gas generators and provide access to electricity for the whole day.”

More than 60 kilometers south of Mandalay is a small town called Kyaushe， where the Mandalay distribution station of China-Myanmar gas pipeline was built.

Against blue skies and white clouds， lush green rice fields near the distribution station are full of vitality. In the station， everything is neat and orderly including the yellow pipeline， the silver valve and blue generator room.

A Myanmar employee Wanpo was manning the control room overseeing gas distribution. “This is a very good project，” he opined. “Natural gas from the China-Myanmar gas pipeline not only enables people to cook and enjoy electricity， it also makes our factorys machines run. All of these things combined make local residents lives better. I am proud to work here.”

A senior official of the National League for Democracy noted that the China-Myanmar gas pipeline is a representative project of energy and economic cooperation between the two countries and will play an important role in promoting the economic development of both countries.

In Myanmar， the tremendous vitality of economic development from busy factories to hustle-and-bustle highways and ports can be overwhelming. The estimated growth rate of Myanmars gross domestic product for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year is 6.8 percent. Electricity is the basis of peoples livelihood， the foundation of development and the source of prosperity.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi， state counsellor of Myanmar， said that developing the electric power industry is the top priority on the agenda for both economic development and improvement of peoples livelihood.

U Kyaw Win， chairman of the Myanmar Investment Commission， added that the commission considers investments in the electric power sector， which is driving the countrys development， priority projects. He expects Myanmar and China to conduct more extensive cooperation in energy and other fields. “China is helping Myanmar develop the electric power industry by increasing our power supply capacity and reducing electricity prices，” he declared. “This is greatly significant for Myanmars economic and social development and poverty eradication.”