STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- 84% of households in rural Myanmar have no electricity connection, creating hardship, perpetuating poverty, and stalling development
- The Government of Myanmar, with the help of the World Bank, has developed a National Electrification Plan that calls for universal electricity access by 2030, or 7.2 million new connections
- The National Electrification Plan will get off the ground with $400 million in funds from the World Bank’s International Development Association, which is expected to bring electricity to over six million people by 2021 and mobilize further investments
Kyaw San, a high school student in Buu Tar Suu
village in Myanmar’s Yangon Division, finds that studying at night can
be a real challenge. It gets especially difficult during the rainy
season when the old solar-powered lamps he relies on cannot be charged,
forcing him to study by dim candlelight.
Win Win Nwe, a grade 5 student, faces a similar
situation when she studies for exams. “If the battery is charged I have
light, otherwise I must work by candlelight.” Her family can’t always
afford to buy candles, adding a layer of difficulty to an activity many
take for granted.
Such stories are common all over Myanmar. In a
country with tremendous natural riches, only 30% of the population is
connected to the electricity grid. Average annual per capita electricity
consumption is 160 kilowatt-hours, one-twentieth the world average. In
the countryside, the situation is even worse. As of 2014, only 16% of
rural households had a connection.
The lack of electricity means that people live
without light, or the basic household appliances that other people use
on a daily basis. Small businesses are unable to get off the ground, and
outside investments that could create jobs are unlikely in the absence
of a reliable power supply. Markets cannot operate at night, and clinics
cannot refrigerate medicines.
In 2014, the World Bank helped the Government of Myanmar develop a comprehensive and ambitious National Electrification Plan with support from the Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program
(ESMAP). The plan’s goal is to bring electricity to everyone in Myanmar
by the year 2030. This means 7.2 million new household connections over
the next 15 years, requiring a doubling of the current rate of grid
extension and a total of $6 billion in investments. For a country like
Myanmar that is just re-emerging from economic isolation, this is a huge
undertaking.
The plan calls for a phased approach: 50% access by
2020, 75% by 2025, and universal access by 2030. This will be achieved
through a two-pronged approach: rapid extension of the national grid,
coupled with off-grid electricity, including modern solar home systems
and mini-grids, to rural and remote communities that would otherwise
have to wait years for a grid connection. The first phase of the plan
calls for 1.7 million households to be connected to electricity by 2020
and an investment of approximately $700 million.
The first steps to turn the plan into reality have now been taken. On September 16, 2015, the Bank approved a $400 million International Development Association (IDA) credit to Myanmar for
both grid extension and off-grid electrification. Support from the
Bank’s Asia Sustainable and Alternative Energy Program (ASTAE) helped
prepare the investment operation. With the IDA funds, 750,000 households
will be connected to the grid by 2021 and off-grid electricity will be
extended to another 500,000 households.
In addition, 23,000 new “community” connections for
clinics, schools and religious buildings will be created, and over
150,000 public lights will be put up. The credit will also fund
technical assistance to build capacity among local staff to implement
the plan, improve policies and regulation around electricity and
renewable energy, and develop a framework to plan out future
electrification and monitor results.
The plan will align technical and financial support
from development partners, central and local government agencies, and
the private sector toward a common goal. One year after the plan was
prepared, approximately $550 million from development partners has been
confirmed or is under preparation, including this World Bank credit. At
the same time the government demonstrated its commitment to the plan by
establishing a National Electrification Executive Committee, with
co-secretariats responsible for electrification planning, investment,
and donor coordination.
As the plan is rolled out, the electricity it will
bring has the potential to transform life in rural Myanmar. Students
will be able to study in the evening, local clinics can provide better
services, shops can stay open late, and new local industries and
enterprises will have a chance to thrive.
“If we can have electricity here it would be great
for us,” says Kyi Htwe, another resident of Buu Tar Suu village. “I want
to see my village to have lights like the other villages. Also for my
country—I would like to see lights everywhere in the country, even the
remote places.”
Ref:http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/09/16/electricity-to-transform-rural-myanmar
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