Efforts For An Interconnected ASEAN Power Grid Should Be Accelerated; TNB CEO

ASEAN power utility firms must accelerate collaboration to achieve an interconnected ASEAN Power Grid (APG) in support of the region’s common aim of reaching Net Zero as member countries urgently migrate to cleaner and more sustainable energy.

TNB President and CEO Dato’ Indera Ir. Baharin Din stated, “Its advancement must be hastened for several critical reasons.”

The APG, one of the region’s largest and most ambitious joint projects, aspires to fully integrate Southeast Asia’s power grid infrastructure. It’s been 25 years in the making.

Baharin explained that as ASEAN is projected to become the 4th largest economy in the world by 2050 and given its booming population -growing at a rate faster than China, the region is “most at-risk in facing the impact of global warming.”

“As ASEAN takes actions to safeguard its communities from the on-going and future threats posed by the climate crisis, the APG project can deliver benefits on multiple fronts and combine ASEAN’s strengths to tackle these challenges head-on,” he said at Enlit Asia 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand on September 20.

Baharin emphasised the importance of an interconnected grid like the APG in assisting ASEAN member nations in leveraging resources from their neighbours during times of crisis, as well as offering the option to trade and rely on resource prices at other times.

Given the present consequences of high fuel prices, he stated that “a more balanced fuel mix will promote regional energy stability and security, and the APG can counter the risks and possible economic implications of these fuel shocks.”

As ASEAN’s power utilities speed their transition to a more sustainable future, the sharing of RE sources through this regional marketplace (APG) will promote incremental private investment into ASEAN while also driving innovation and expansion of clean energy in the area, he added.

Noting that ASEAN would need around US$190 billion per year to transition to net zero, he stated that the APG project would allow member nations to optimise their needed investment while also encouraging the thriving development of novel commercial models for interconnectors.

He said these positive economic spillovers would also translate into more electricity infrastructure investment, as well as the development of New Growth areas for technological adoption. Among them are cutting-edge technologies in high voltage, direct and alternating current; transmission system devices; and power storage applications that would lead to growth alongside the APG expansion.

Based on the experience from the successful commencement of the Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS PIP) this year, Baharin expressed confidence that ASEAN power companies can work towards achieving the APG.

“We are in a good position to design a power trade framework that hopefully will match each country’s electricity industry structure and provide a win-win situation for all.”

He pointed out that TNB, in its holistic approach to responsible Energy Transition, recognises that the ASEAN interconnection is key. “Thus, we are committed to expediting the progress of the APG.”

TNB has allocated RM21 billion investment in its Grid of the Future program for the period starting 2022 to 2024 to enhance its transmission and distribution network readiness and reliability.

Referring to Europe’s grid interconnection which took decades to be developed, he said, “Given the time horizon required to plan and build the necessary regulatory, financial and physical infrastructure, the region must act swiftly to accelerate these efforts.

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