• Burmese
Friday, July 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Gov’t to Buy Electricity from China to Cover Shortfall

Nan Lwin by Nan Lwin
May 14, 2019
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Power transmission lines strung across Yangon’s Hlaing River / The Irrawaddy

Power transmission lines strung across Yangon’s Hlaing River / The Irrawaddy

8.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON—The Myanmar government plans to buy 1,000 MW of electricity from a Chinese state-owned enterprise to meet an expected electricity shortage over the next two years.

Myanmar, which already has Southeast Asia’s lowest rate of access to electricity, has recently been plagued by regular power blackouts due to water shortages at hydropower plants following severe heat across the country. Hydropower remains Myanmar’s main source of electricity, followed by natural gas and coal. According to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE), the country faced a 400 MW power shortage as of April. This is expected to rise to 1,588 MW by 2020.

“We have already estimated the potential electricity shortage by 2021. That’s why we are planning to buy electricity from China,” U Tin Maung Oo, MOEE permanent secretary, said at a press conference on Thursday.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Scrambles for Chinese Energy Investment as Lights Go Out

Myanmar Junta Scrambles for Chinese Energy Investment as Lights Go Out

June 23, 2025
3.2k
Certifying a Chinese Security Invasion; Boosting Ties With Nuclear North Korea; and More

Certifying a Chinese Security Invasion; Boosting Ties With Nuclear North Korea; and More

June 21, 2025
2.8k
Assassination Rocks Yangon; Junta Boss Rewrites History; and More

Assassination Rocks Yangon; Junta Boss Rewrites History; and More

May 24, 2025
2.7k

The ministry will buy the electricity from Guangzhou-based state-owned enterprise China Southern Power Grid. One of the biggest electricity operators, it currently provides 890.2 TWh of electricity to Vietnam, Laos, Hong Kong, Macau and a number of provinces in China.

“[The planned purchase] is related to the BRI. China Southern Power Grid has already done some joint studies with [MOEE],” U Tin Maung Oo said. The BRI, or Belt and Road Initiative, is China’s ambitious international infrastructure development strategy.

According to MOEE, the electricity is expected to be transmitted from Dhong Dai in Yunnan, China to Muse, Mineye and Hopong in northern Shan State, Loikaw in Kayah State and Phayakyi in Bago Region. However, MOEE did not provide details on the estimated cost of the project.

U Tin Maung Oo said the plan also calls for the two sides to trade power. “If we need power, we will buy [from China]. If we manage to build more hydropower plants in the future, we will have excess electricity. Then, we will sell it back.”

At last week’s meeting of the Lower House (or Pyithu Hluttaw), Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy U Htun Naing said that only 44 percent of the country’s population is linked to the national power grid.

Union Minister for Electricity and Energy U Win Khaing said the ministry has set periodic electricity access targets through 2030. It aims for 55 percent of the population to have access to power by 2020-2021, 75 percent by 2025-2026 and 100 percent by 2030-2031.

As part of the National Electrification Plan, on April 30 the Electricity Supply Enterprise under MOEE and six companies signed contracts to install transmission lines and transformers in 590 villages in the following regions and states: Yangon, Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Rakhine, northern Shan, Kayin and Mon. The project will be funded with a World Bank loan.

Since 2017, three Chinese state-owned companies; China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co. Ltd, China Southern Power Grid Co. Ltd and a subsidiary of the latter, Yunnan International Co. Ltd, proposed separate plans to connect Myanmar’s national grid with the electricity network in China’s Yunnan Province. The proposals include building a high-voltage transmission line linking the border town of Muse with Meiktila in Mandalay Region, supplying power from Yunnan via high-voltage cables, and the use of an existing cable to link Meiktila with Yunnan via Muse.

You may also like these stories:

Soldiers Kill 7 Villagers, Including 3 Children, over Motorbike in Karen State

GAD Chief Appointed Deputy Union Gov’t Office Minister

Energy Ministry Negotiates to Lower Fuel Oil Prices

USDP Lawmaker Questions Transparency of Private Power Deals

Your Thoughts …
Tags: BRIChina Southern Power GridElectricityMOEEPower
Nan Lwin

Nan Lwin

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

China Tightens Grip on Myanmar’s Belt & Road Corridor After Rescuing Junta
Burma

China Tightens Grip on Myanmar’s Belt & Road Corridor After Rescuing Junta

by The Irrawaddy
March 5, 2025
12.7k

Observers say Beijing has been granted a free rein to safeguard Chinese investments following Shan intervention.

Read moreDetails
--
Guest Column

‘Broken Tooth’: The Face of Chinese Investment in Myanmar

by Bertil Lintner
July 17, 2023
22k

The spread of enterprises run by Macau triad boss Wan Kuok Koi and his associates in Myanmar is illustrative of...

Read moreDetails
Blackouts Lengthen in Yangon as Power Crisis Worsens in Myanmar
Burma

Blackouts Lengthen in Yangon as Power Crisis Worsens in Myanmar

by The Irrawaddy
October 2, 2023
5.9k

Residents and business owners in the country’s commercial hub are being crippled by the power crisis.

Read moreDetails
Life Without Power Spells Daily Misery for Yangon’s Residents
Burma

Life Without Power Spells Daily Misery for Yangon’s Residents

by Nyein Nyein
January 29, 2025
5k

Lack of electricity affects every aspect of Yangon residents’ daily lives, from work to sleep, and now even hotter weather...

Read moreDetails
Worsening Power Cuts Plunge Myanmar’s Cities Into Darkness
Burma

Worsening Power Cuts Plunge Myanmar’s Cities Into Darkness

by Naung Naung
January 8, 2025
4.6k

Households in Yangon and Mandalay are left without power for most of the day under a new rotating schedule for...

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Football Field Dreams Amid Battlefield Disasters; Regime Propaganda’s Parallel Reality; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Football Field Dreams Amid Battlefield Disasters; Regime Propaganda’s Parallel Reality; and More

by The Irrawaddy
January 20, 2024
4.6k

Also this week, China appeased after Taiwan election, forced recruitment as resistance threatens to decouple main cities, power plea for...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
A stretch of road linking Mandalay and Muse in Shan State. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

China-Backed Muse-Mandalay Railway to Cost $9 Billion

The meeting between the Kayah state government and Karenni right activists held in Loikaw on May 14, 2019. / Progressive Karenni People’s Force

Karenni Activists Walk Out of Gov’t Meeting

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

2 days ago
1.2k
‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

6 days ago
809

Most Read

  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Rakhine Fighters Close In on Myanmar Junta’s Naval Base

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Behind the Scenes: China’s Hand in Myanmar’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Recaptures Nawnghkio After Months-Long Counteroffensive

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.