Page 6 - AsiaElec Week 44

AsiaElec GRID AsiaElec

ADB to lend $133mn to modernise

distribution in India’s Meghalaya State

INDIA THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has about 180,000 households.
approved a $132.8mn loan to upgrade the power “This project fully supports Meghalaya’s
distribution network and improve reliability in Power for All initiative in providing quality
the north-eastern Indian state of Meghalaya. electricity 24 hours, 7 days a week to house-
Distribution networks are overloaded and holds, industries, businesses and the public. By
substations in rural areas use outdated technol- modernising and improving the distribution
ogy, resulting in high aggregate technical and network, the project will improve the opera-
commercial (AT&C) losses. tional efficiency of distribution system and the
The Indian government and the state gov- financial sustainability of distribution business
ernment of Meghalaya embarked on a joint in the state,” said ADB senior energy specialist
initiative in 2015 called 24X7 Power for All for South Asia Jaimes Kolantharaj.
Meghalaya to provide uninterrupted, quality, “Improving access to electricity and creating
reliable and affordable power supply to all elec- economic opportunities in rural areas will help
tricity consumers. address poverty, promote rural development and
Frequent power cuts mean that although reduce inequality.”
Meghalaya has achieved 100% electrification, the The loan will be supplemented by a $2mn
state’s per capita electricity consumption of 832 grant from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty
kWh is low compared with the national average Reduction that will finance mini-grids that will
of 1,122 kWh in 2017. Remote rural areas suffer improve power quality and support income gen-
the most from frequent power interruptions. eration, especially for women and other socially
The funding will help construct 23 substa- disadvantaged groups, using renewable energy
tions, renovate and modernise 45 substations, sources in three villages and three schools.
including the provision of control room equip- The project will help develop a distribution
ment and protection systems, and install and sector road map and a financial road map for the
upgrade 2,214 km of distribution lines and asso- Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Ltd
ciated facilities. (MePDCL). These road maps will strengthen the
Work will replace antiquated electromechan- capacity of MePDCL to operate and manage the
ical meters with smart meters, which will benefit distribution networks™

GAS-FIRED GENERATION

ExxonMobil, JERA to build integrated

LNG-to-power project in Vietnam

VIETNAM EXXONMOBIL Hai Phong Energy (EMPHE), potential locations of power plants and LNG
Hai Phong People’s Committee and Japan power import infrastructure. The project submissions
generation company JERA have signed a mem- are pending government approvals.
orandum of understanding (MoU) to work LNG-fuelled power in Hai Phong will pro-
together on a potential integrated LNG-to- vide a more environmentally friendly alterna-
power project in Hai Phong. tive to the currently proposed coal projects in
ExxonMobil, the Hai Phong city government the master plan.
and JERA have agreed to expand on their strong “Hai Phong is industrialising at a fast pace,
co-operation and exchange of expertise to jointly with an annual growth rate of over 20%.
study natural gas market development opportu- Therefore, our annual power consumption is
nities, including LNG import facilities and gas- growing and is expected to double between 2020
fired power plants.ExxonMobil has submitted a and 2030,” said Nguyen Van Tung, chairman,
master plan application with a project concept Hai Phong People’s Committee.
for consideration and potential inclusion in “Hai Phong City is pleased to collaborate with
Vietnam’s National Power Development Plan ExxonMobil and JERA to provide a clean energy
(PDP). Hai Phong City has submitted a letter of resource for Vietnam in Hai Phong City.
recommendation to include power demand with “ExxonMobil is honoured to work with

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 44 04•November•2020