Myanmar to expand national grid, build more power stations
Myanmar is building new power stations that will contribute a total of 500 kilovolt amperes (KV) to the national grid in fiscal 2020-21, said U Win Khaing, Minister for Electricity and Energy.
Construction of the Eastern Grid, Western Grid, Southern Grid and Northern Grids are underway. The four grids will support the existing fully loaded 230 KV power lines and enable more electricity to be transmitted across the country as more power is generated over the next years.
The projects include the 500 KV power station at 146-mile of Meiktila-Taungngu, 230 KV power station at 76-mile of Upper Ye Ywar-Shwesaryan, 500KV at 60-mile of Phayagyi-Hlaingtharyar and 500KV at 117-mile of Taungngu-Phayargyi.
The Meiktila-Taungngu-Phayargyi project will be completed this year. Less power outages are expected.
Other projects being implemented include the 230 KV Nyaungbingyi substation and Gantgaw substation in Sagaing Region, 180-miles 230KV Mawlamyine-Ye-Dawei transmission line and station in Tanintharyi Region, 8.4-mile 230KV Hpa-an-Thaton-Mawlamyine transmission line and station in Kayin State, and 37-mile 132KV Upper Kyaingtaung-Namsan transmission line and 32.7-mile 66KV Muse-Namphatkar transmission line and station in Shan State.
The infrastructure will contribute to better and more stable power distribution and reducing transmission losses from 4 percent to 3pc, enabling the grids to produce 200 million kilowatts per hour, U Win Khaing said.
He added more power generation and electricity transmission is needed to draw more foreign investments into the country.
Electricity demand is growing by 15pc per year in Myanmar. At present, electricity is generated mainly by hydropower and natural gas in Myanmar, meeting 55pc of the country’s electricity needs. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy plans to meet 75pc of the country’s electricity needs by 2025.
It is also aiming to have renewable sources account for 14pc of its total generation within the five-year period and is considering several renewable energy proposals, including 61 solar power projects with a combined capacity of 5,746MW, seven wind power projects generating 1,163MW and six biomass projects generating 200MW across Myanmar. – Translated
Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-expand-national-grid-build-more-power-stations.html
