By Sudarshan Varadhan
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Cambodia plans to import over 600 megawatts (MW) of clean power from neighbouring Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, its energy minister Keo Rottanak told Reuters, increasing its contracted import capacity by over 50%.
The southeast Asian nation will import 300 MW of solar and hydro capacity from Laos starting in 2026. It is in the final stages of approval to almost double a 300 MW import deal with Vietnam and could potentially import another 100 MW from Thailand, Rottanak said.
“We just signed last week more than 300 megawatt combined hydro and solar with Laos. So this is going to come to Cambodia in 2026,” Rottanak told Reuters in an interview at the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW).
Cambodia currently has contracts to import 1,030 MW of power from Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration, accounting for nearly a quarter of total capacity used to supply power to the country.
Rottanak said he expects to contract another 200-plus MW from Vietnam, and potentially more than 100 MW from Thailand.
Imports from Vietnam are set to begin “as soon as possible,” as the Cambodian and Vietnamese national electric utilities have already wrapped up discussions on the deal, and were waiting for final government approvals, he said.
Rottanak said Cambodia’s contracted imports with its neighbours highlighted the potential for boosting interconnection in southeast Asia, adding that it provided flexibility amid increasing volatility of hydropower output due to increasingly frequent weather-related disruptions.
The 10-member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been trying for decades to form a regional grid to facilitate multilateral power trade, but progress has been limited to bilateral deals.
Rottanak said he expects the regional grid to become a reality by 2035.
(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
