Dan Sahong Hydropower Plant in Laos (Photo: khmertimeskh.com)
The power link runs between interim transmitters in Laos and transmitters in Cambodia’s Stung Treng province.
The link is to prepare for the official transaction process of importing power from Laos to Cambodia in the first quarter of this year, said Victor Jona, director general of the general department of energy at the Cambodian Ministry of Mines and Energy.
Once in official operation, 195MW of electricity will be transmitted from the plant to the border and then to Phnom Penh via a 230kV transmission line in Stung Treng province, Jona said.
The 500 million-USD Dan Sahong Hydropower Plant was invested by Malaysia’s Mega First Corporation Berhad and EDL-Generation Public Company, which hold 80 percent share and 20 percent share, respectively. It was built on the Mekong River in Laos’s southern Champasak province, just two km north of Cambodia.
The plant has an installed capacity of 260MW.
Currently, Cambodia imports between 50MW to 70MW of electricity from Laos.
Cambodia and Laos have also reached an agreement for a 2,400MW power purchase which is scheduled to start in 2024.
Cambodia has seen an unexpectedly high increase in electricity consumption, up 32 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year. By contrast, consumption in 2018 rose 16 percent year on year.
VietNamPlus