BANDAR SER BEGAWAN/PHNOM PENH (Bernama): South-East Asia is strengthening its electricity supply through the ambitious Asean Power Grid, as the ongoing global fuel crisis poses a clear threat to the region’s energy security.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) this week injected US$25 million (RM99 million) through a multi-partner fund to bolster cross-border energy and transmission infrastructure in Southeast Asia.
"The Asean Power Grid is one of Southeast Asia’s greatest opportunities, with the potential to deliver energy security for nearly 700 million people and power the region’s growth.
"This project preparation fund is a decisive step towards accelerating high-quality ASEAN Power Grid investments and turning regional ambition into action,” said ADB President Masato Kanda, according to the bank’s website.
The timing is crucial. The global energy markets are wobbling under the heat of the unresolved Iran-Israel-United States conflict, which has disrupted fuel supply lines.
In the region, Asean economies that depend excessively on imported West Asian oil and gas are suffering from soaring fuel prices, straining their financial reserves.
Cambodia, a net importer, has spent roughly US$47 million (RM187 million) a month since the tensions flared up in West Asia. The Philippines, another major oil importer, announced US$41 million (RM163 million) fuel subsidy for the transport sector last month.
For years, regional energy experts have stressed the critical importance of power supply to drive Asean’s industrial growth, which has matured into an international industrial hub supporting small and medium enterprises as well as global conglomerates.
Dinita Setyawati, Senior Energy Analyst for Asia at the global energy think tank Ember, said governments should leverage the Asean Power Grid to enable greater sharing of renewable energy resources across the region.
"The Asean energy ambitions envisage the continued use of gas and expansion of LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminals up to 2030.
"The current crises highlighted the risk of exposing ASEAN countries to economic crisis caused by energy supply volatility,” Dinita told Bernama in an interview in March.
According to the 7th Asean Energy Outlook, the region’s energy mix is dominated by oil (33 per cent), coal (28 per cent), and natural gas (22 per cent), with a 14.2 per cent share for renewable energy in 2020.
The regional power grid, integrating electricity grid operations by 2045, will unlock access to a reliable and affordable power supply, including renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and hydropower, said the Manila-based ADB.
Asean's power demand is projected to triple by 2040, mainly due to rapid urbanisation, demographic changes, data centres, and industrialisation, entry of electric vehicles and climate change, say experts.
"A short-term buffer could be accelerating renewable energy policies to support a more competitive market. Longer term, economies may need to rebuild their strategies around renewables while decarbonising end-use electricity.
"The great thing about renewables is that everyone can be a prosumer - producer and consumer of electricity, for example, via rooftop solar.
"This enables inclusive and greater people's participation to help meet rising energy demand,” said Dinita.
The Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project is the maiden cross-border electricity trading initiative that came into operation in 2022.
The recent ADB funding consists of contributions from Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
-- BERNAMA
