Laos supplies 195MW power from Don Sahong Dam to Cambodia’s national grid
Nearly 200 megawatts of electricity from Don Sahong Dam in Laos has been linked to Cambodia’s national grid after the dam finished tests on four electricity generators.
The power linking was made between interim transmitters in Laos and transmitters in Cambodia’s Stung Treng province on Tuesday, the Khmer Times reported on Wednesday.
The official importation is scheduled to be brought in the first quarter this year, said Victor Jona, director general of Energy at the Ministry of Mines and Energy on Tuesday.
Once in official operation, the 195MW will be carried from the dam to the border which is then linked to a 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line in Stung Treng to Phnom Penh, Jona said.
“The link is to prepare for the official transaction process of importing power from Laos to Cambodia in the first quarter this year,” Jona said.
The US$500 million dam, invested by Malaysia’s Mega First Corporation Berhad and EDL-Generation Public Company, which carry 80% share and 20% share, respectively, was built on the Mekong River in Laos’s southern Champasak province, just two kilometres north of Cambodia.
The plant has an installed capacity of 260MW.
According to Jona, the price of the 195MW power purchase agreement is $0.073 per kilowatt hour, which Cambodia’s Electricity Authority (EDC) implements with a power deal.
The Vientiane Times reported in October the dam started four electricity generators last year after construction started earlier in 2016.
Currently, Cambodia imports power from Laos between 50MW to 70MW.
Cambodia and Laos also reached an agreement of a 2,400MW power purchase which is scheduled to start in 2024. The power, under the purchase agreement, will be generated from coal-fired power plants, located in Laos.
“Currently, power imported from Laos is still small and once the 195MW has been made the amount of power in 2024 imported from Laos will be increasing higher,” Jona said.
The government is also building high 500kV transmission line from Phnom Penh to the border of Laos for carrying 2,400MW once in operation.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1831359/laos-links-195mw-power-to-cambodia
