Electricity co-operation crucial

Co-operation on the exchange of electricity will be very important in making the 10-country ASEAN bloc move forward to a single market by 2015, experts said, but a shortage of power supply in each country remains a challenge. Speaking to reporters yesterday after the opening of the 29th meeting of the Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities and Authorities Council, Keo Rottanak, director general of Electricity of Cambodia (EDC), said the population and economic growth rates are rising in ASEAN, which is why more energy supply is needed. … According to a report in 2011 conducted by the ASEAN Center for Energy, Cambodia’s electricity tariff is one of the most expensive in the Southeast Asian region. Tariff rates range from 9 cents to 25 cents per kilowatt hour for the EDC grid, and 40 cents to 80 cents per kilowatt hour for rural areas. The report revealed that on average electricity prices for industrial consumers range from 11.71 cents to 14.63 cents, which is the highest among ASEAN economies. …

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