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Myanmar Takes Measures to Tackle Power Shortage Problem
The shortage of electric power is a major difficult problem which the Myanmar government has long been facing. It has not only restrained the country's economic development but also brought about extreme inconvenience with people's daily life.
After taking over the state power on September 18, 1988, the Myanmar military government took various measures in tackling the electric power shortage problem and made certain achievements.
The main measures taken by the Myanmar government to solve this problem are as follows:
Firstly, breaking the monopoly of the state on electric power industry, permitting and encouraging cooperatives and private enterprises to engage in the exploitation of electric power resources to appropriate scale.
For a long duration, Myanmar's electric power industry was entirely monopolized by the state, thus hindering the development of the industry to some extent.
The Myanmar government introduced in 1994 a policy permitting cooperatives and private entrepreneurs to build small-sized hydropower stations in places where conditions suit.
The policy grants the cooperatives to set up such small hydropower stations of a capacity up to 750 kilowatts (kw) and the private entrepreneurs to establish such stations of a capacity up to 3,000 kw.
Although the policy limits the sizes and scales of hydropower stations built by the two sectors, it has still made a major step forward compared with the past.
Secondly, strengthening cooperation with foreign countries in the exploitation of electric power.
In October 1998, the Yunnan Machinery Equipment Import and Export Corporation of China and the state-run Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE) signed a contract on building in Myanmar's northern Mandalay division the Paunglaung hydropower plant which has an installed generating capacity of up to 280 megawatts (mw).
This major project, now under implementation, is expected to solve 25 percent of the country's domestic power consumption on completion.
In November 1998, China International Trust and Investment Corporation and the MEPE endorsed another contract on the implementation of the Thanphanseik hydropower station in Myanmar's northwestern Sagaing division and the Mone power station in
southwestern Magway division.
The installed generating capacity of the two small hydropower plants are respectively 30 mw and 75 mw.
In addition, the Japanese government announced in early May this year that due to failure of maintenance of the Lawpyita hydropower station, built for Myanmar by Japan in the 1960s, and outdated equipment, the Japanese government plans to extend 3.5 billion yens( 28.6 million U.S. dollars) of aid to Myanmar to be used as maintenance cost for the station.
Thirdly, Raising highly the electricity charges. Since February 1999, Myanmar has raised highly the electricity charges, introducing a system of collecting the charges in sections, that is 2.5 Kyats per unit if monthly consumption is within 50 units, while 10 kyats per unit if between 51 and 200 units and 25 kyats per unit if over 200 units.
Meanwhile, electricity charges for industrial use rose the sharpest with 30 Kyats per unit.
According to the figures published by Myanmar's Central Statistical Organization, as of 2000, the installed generating capacity of the MEPE came to 1,172 mw, an increase of 509 mw or 43.4 percent from 1988. Of them, that of natural gas power plants rose 255 mw, while that of steam power ones 143 mw and that of hydropower ones 111 mw.
Meanwhile, the MEPE's electric power generated in 2000 was 5.028 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh), up 55 percent compared with 2.226 kwh 13 years ago.
Although Myanmar made some achievements in easing the tension of electricity shortage, but as the country's economy develops, the demand also increases accordingly.
It can be said that Myanmar's present generated power is far from meeting the domestic demand, thus restricting to a large extent Myanmar's economic development.
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