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ASEAN road map for regional power grid delayed
An eagerly awaited road map meant to guide ASEAN’s efforts to integrate power grids across the region has been pushed back.
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ASEAN energy ministers and dialogue partners attend an MoU signing ceremony on Aug. 25, 2023, at the 41st ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) 2023 in Bali. (JP/Divya Karyza)
T
he presentation of an eagerly awaited supporting study or road map to assist the deployment of the ASEAN Power Grid, which is expected to guide the region’s efforts to integrate power grids, has been delayed.
Aang Darmawan, the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) country manager at the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), one of the parties involved in the road map’s formulation, cited the need for more time to “coordinate with stakeholders”.
The road map, which would include financial and regulatory frameworks for intraregional connectivity, was expected to be unveiled during the 41st ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) held in Bali last week in conjunction with the ASEAN Energy Business Forum.
Speaking to The Jakarta Post on Aug. 25, Aang added that, despite the delay, the ministers’ meeting produced several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to carry on with the regional power grid initiative.
As of today, in the context of the official ASEAN documents related to the ASEAN Power Grid, the only document approved by member states is the ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS) III, according to Rinda Rufaidah, spokeswoman for the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE).
Beni Suryadi, manager of the Power, Fossil Fuel, Alternative Energy and Storage Department at ACE, said devising AIMS III required a significant amount of time and resources considering the massive modeling scale. Nevertheless, the final document is currently under review.
“ACE has been conducting a series of consultations with each country involved, which takes quite a bit of time. We do this to ensure that the document accommodates the aspirations of all members,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
