Myanmar strives to improve power supply to Yangon

YANGON, MYANMAR - The Myanmar electric power authorities is striving to improve electric power supply to Yangon, the previous capital city, by ensuring round-the-clock supply in the wake of years of power shortage, according to local media.

Out of 33 townships in Yangon, test-run on providing 24-hour electricity to some nine of them is being carried out and will be extended to 24 other townships in the near future, the media said.

The Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE), which is the main electricity supplier, is supplying 360 megawatts (mw) of electricity to Yangon daily and 860 mw to other parts of the country, the MEPE said.

The MEPE attributed the possible increase of power supply in Yangon to the move of government ministries to the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw since last November, which resulted in reduced power consumption by the ministry offices in Yangon and making possible increased supply to residential areas as well as industrial zones.

Previously, electricity was supplied at three durations of time alternately, bringing about much inconvenience to the consumers.

Meanwhile, The MEPE has raised the electricity charge prices beginning last May, advising the country's people to use electricity more efficiently and keep away from overuse of it.

Electricity prices have gone up to 25 Kyats (0.02 U.S. dollar) per unit to be charged uniformly from previous prices which differed from 2.5 Kyats to 25 Kyats per 1 to 200 units.

The old system of collecting electricity charge had remained in force for seven years since May 1999 until April 2006.

Government officials attributed the change of rate in collecting electricity charge to the adoption of the market-oriented economy which was introduced since 1989.

According to the MEPE, Myanmar is implementing 15 major hydropower plant projects to generate 10,000 more megawatts (mw) in a bid to fulfill its domestic power demand and bring about socio- economic progress. They include Tasang (7,110 mw), Shweli ( 400 mw), Yeywa (780 mw) and Htamanthi (1,200 mw) among others.

With some 12 of them to be prospectively yielding over 2,000 mw in the next three years, it will potentially triple the amount of electricity available on the national power grid, experts said.

Myanmar had built 30 hydropower plants and 9 other gas ones since 1988.

Government available figures show that Myanmar has a total of over 1,335 mw of installed generating capacity of electric power as of the end of June 2005, up from 706.82 mw in 1988. The hydropower ones account for 35 percent, while the gas-fired ones take 50 percent of the country's total capacity.

Myanmar's electric power generation has grown to 5.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) in 2004-05 from 2.2 billion units in 1988, the figures also show.

Observers here said that despite the shift of administrative capital to Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon will retain its important economic status in the country.

To bring about greater development of Yangon, constant power supply is needed for running industrial enterprises, services sector and the livelihood of the citizens, the observers believed.