Frost & Sullivan: Is it Time to Energize the Power Market in Myanmar?

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• Publié par: frost-sullivan
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• Langue: English

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Frost & Sullivan: Is it Time to Energize the

Power Market in Myanmar?

PR Newswire

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 11, 2012

~ Investment Opportunities in the Myanmar Power Market ~

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

,

July 11, 2012

/PRNewswire/ -- The recent easing of

sanctions by Western countries against

Myanmar

could prove to be a

cornerstone in the nation's economic development. As the economy attempts

to take off from its current position, the power sector holds the key to support

rapid economic growth in the currently power starved country.

According to Vishal Narain, Industry Analyst for Frost & Sullivan's Asia Pacific

Energy Practice,

Myanmar

has an estimated installed power capacity of 2,254

MW that has grown annually at a rate of 10% since 2007.

"The demand for power shot up by 15% in 2012 which has led to the current

power crisis. A lot of projects in the recent past have increased the power

generation capacity but only 13% of the country's entire population has access

to electricity," he said.

Myanmar

has a per capita power consumption of only 104 KWh compared to a

consumption of over 2,000 KWh in

Thailand

and around 600 KWh in

Indonesia

.

Up to 70% of the power generation capacity is from the 18 hydropower plants

which generate up to 1,270 MW during the rainy season and 1,000 MW during

the dry season. The gas fired plants generate up to 350 MW.

In the current scenario of reforms, the country is likely to attain higher

consumption levels in less than two decades, which means a capacity of up to

50 GW in that time frame. This would entail an investment of roughly

US$50

billion

in the power generation sector alone.

"The scope to bridge the impending power demand-supply gap offers huge

investment opportunities for both the multinational and domestic companies

across the power industry value chain from generation to transmission and

distribution and in distributed power generation including power rental sector,"

said Narain.

He continued, "

Myanmar

has so far relied heavily on hydropower projects which

puts power generation at the mercy of rains. In the future, we may expect a

conscious decision to move away from hydropower and encourage a diversified

mix in power generation. This could pave the way to more investments in

conventional thermal power plants."

Antiquated transmission & distribution (T&D) lines offer medium-term

investment opportunities. With some cables as old as 40 years and more than

half the cables transporting power at less than 230KV, power losses are

significant.

"Massive investments in upgrading power T&D infrastructure could help the

government reduce power losses and thereby, manage the power crisis more

effectively. To increase the electrification ratio, the

Myanmar

government plans

to set up as much as 5,000 miles of 230KV transmission lines with eight

substation projects to support the grid. This is capable of generating

investments worth

US$1 billion

over the next ten years," said Narain.