RANGOON — The Yangon Electricity Supply Corporation (YESC) has pledged to supply round the clock electricity to Rangoon over the summer months, according to chairman Aung Khine.
The former Yangon Electricity Supply Board, renamed this month ahead of a planed privatization, has officially become financially independent from the Ministry of Electric Power as part of a restructure launched on Apr. 1.
“We’ve received enough electricity from the Ministry of Electric Power, so we can provide 24-hour supply to Rangoon, even during the water festival,” Aung Khine said.
Home to more than five million people and home to most of the country’s manufacturing industries, Rangoon has suffered from chronic energy shortages at a time of booming demand. During the hot season, increased power consumption and lower throughput at hydroelectric power stations generally exacerbate the length and frequency of outages.
Maung Maung Latt, the YESC’s vice-chairman, said that new energy projects brought online and connected to the local grid would soon make outages a thing of the past.
“There were some hydro projects finished this year, as well as gas coming from the Zawtika project too—that’s why we can provide 24 hours electricity this summer,” he said.
According to the YESC, power consumption in Rangoon has increased 15 percent annually, and currently stands at about 1000 megawatts per day—about half of Burma’s total nationwide electricity production.
