Asean grid interconnection doesn’t come cheap

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Centre for Energy (ACE) is scrambling to fund a feasibility study on interconnecting the power sector of four countries, including the Philippines.

Beni Suryadi, executive director of ACE, an intergovernmental organization within Asean, said the group sought to lead the study on linking the Asean grid interconnection doesn’t come cheapelectricity infrastructure of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

“We have to look into the economic perspective, technical perspective. We’re talking about grid harmonization,” he told reporters at a recent forum in Malaysia. “Their ministries have a technical working group, which consists of policymakers, regulators, utility groups, to sit down and conduct a detailed study for the possibility of a cross-border [link among] these four countries.”

The official explained that the interconnection would help prop up the power supply of countries with insufficient reserves.

“It’s more of a friends-of-friends setting. It’s a slow progress because we’re talking cross-border. We’re talking about the security of supply. There is a strong commitment and trust from the growing countries to have an interconnection,” the ACE executive said.

Suryadi was confident of pushing this amid “strong support from the countries involved.”

However, he said the association may need $1.5 million to $5 million to finance the conduct of a detailed study.

Funding support

The official said ACE had already approached multiple banks, including the Asian Development Bank, for the creation of an Asean profit financing facility that could be tapped for the feasibility study.

Suryadi noted that there was also a plan to boost capacity and bring in more renewable energy into the grid.

The Asean Power Grid has only six bilateral interconnections operating—linking Singapore and Malaysia, Thailand and Malaysia, and via Thailand to Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Vietnam.

Ronaldo Ramos, chief operating officer of AboitizPower Thermal Business Group’s Operated Assets, had raised his concern about the Philippines being “farther away from the rest of its neighbors.”

“Up until we get support from other Asean, from our neighbors, we’re on our own,” Ramos said. —Lisbet K. Esmael INQ