Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

Website reference

EWB Challenge eNewsletter, April 2007. [condensed] http://www.ewb.org.au/ewbchallenge/files/EWB%20Challenge%20eNewsletter%20Issue%2002%20April%202007.pdf

Niruttam Kumar Singh and Harvansh Yadaw have developed a cow dung battery that can light up electric bulbs, charge mobile phones and even operate radios. The lack of electricity in Gangagarh motivated the pair to start experimenting with cow dung three years ago. The battery is made by collecting dung in a plastic container holding two discharged batteries. The dung is then charged with a salt water solution, producing positive and negative charges in the batteries. By interconnecting these in series, one unit can produce 1.5 volts of current. The cow dung needs to be replaced every 45 days. The innovation has revolutionised life in Gangagarh and neighbouring villages. Niruttan and Yadas teach villagers how to make the batteries for free. Now over 250 households use the batteries. Reference to an article, ‘Now Charge Your Cell with Cow Dung’ by R. Sharma in the Times of India (25/01/07) available from

http://www.ewb-international.org/pdf/TimesofIndia.pdf
Additional references
See below: ‘Indian solar lanterns to light up Myanmar huts’ (PTI: 07/02/09)

‘Myanmar to build first storm-resistant model village’ (Bernama: 12/06/08)

'Biogas power plants supply electricity to rural areas’ (MT: 16/08/04)
The items below represent a sampling of the many references to demonstrations of the use of “bio-batteries” and LED bulbs for lighting purposes in rural areas.
NLM, 19/05/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/NLM2009-05-19.pdf

A&I Minister Htay Oo meets with thousands of local people from 23 wards and eight villages in Hinthada township and presents them with 50 LED lamps and explains how to use discarded batteries and a generator charger to make the lamps light up.

NLM, 09/05/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/NLM2009-05-09.pdf

On a tour of Kachin state, Gen Thein Sein and his entourage demonstrate the use of bio-batteries in Tanai. “The Prime Minister explained that the bio-battery can easily be made with the use of materials and instructed officials to supervise use of bio-battery at all houses.” [A good close-up photo showing about eight batttery boxes wired together for the demonstration accompanies the article in the print edition of NLM.]

NLM, 08/05/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/NLM2009-05-08.pdf

On a visit to the town of Putao in the far north of Kachin state, Gen Thein Sein meets with township representatives from Putao district. Among other items on the agenda is a demonstration of the use of bio-batteries for home lighting purposes by D-G Thant Shin of the Government Office. The PM instructs officials to take measures for extensive use of bio batteries in every house. A similar event takes place when the PM and his entourage visits the Irrawaddy riverport of Hsinbo. The PM states that the use of the bio-batteries is the most economical means of providing home lighting in rural areas ("which costs less, on a wider scale").

NLM, 30/04/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/NLM2009-04-30.pdf

On a visit to Thagara village in Thazi township, Information Minister Kyaw Hsan attends the opening of the village library and presents K 500,000 each for construction of libraries at Hsegyi and Hngetkyithaik villages as well as publications, a bio-battery and bulbs. He goes on to Shante Village in Meiktila township where he holds a meeing with about 5000 people from 11 village-tracts and 14 wards, He makes two more donations of K 500,000 each for construction libraries in Shante and Phayagyi villages, as well as a bio-battery and bulbs, and publications.

NLM, 28/04/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/NLM2009-04-28.pdf

On visits to the rural townships of Mongyan, Metmang and Monghkat in the Kengtung district of Shan State East the Prime Minister together with other generals, SPDC officials, government ministers and deputy ministers meet with local representatives at the township halls. In each place the Col Thant Shin, the director-general of the government office, explains the use of bio-batteries to provide home lighting and the process of making bio-batteries.

NLM, 18/04/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/NLM2009-04-18.pdf

A news item regarding a visit by Gen Than Shwe to the Kyaukse industrial region is accompanied by a photo of the general examining “plastic lanterns made with the use of waste and old dry cells to light LED bulbs”. It would appear that the plastic casings for either the ‘bio-batteries’ or the ‘lanterns’; mentioned in other recent articles in the official press are being produced at one of the factories in the Kyaukse area. It is of note that the Biogas Research Technological Institute at the Kyaukse Tech University serves as a research centre for the application of bio-gas in the generation of electricity in rural areas of Myanmar. Further details available in the key article (BG) on bio-gas applications.

NLM, 09/04/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-04-09.pdf

Energy Minister Lun Thim inspected Ywathit village project by the Thakhut river in Kungyangon township, on 5 April. Officials of Asia World Co that is in charge of the township reconstruction project gave an account of progress in establishing the village. The four storm-hit villages of Kangyigon, Myakyuntha, Yaydagar and Ywathit have been merged to form the combined Ywathit village. The minister touched upon the sample of low-cost bio-electricity lanterns to be given away to each household in Kungyangon township. On completion, the village will have a school, health care centre, a library, water supply facilities, in addition to 133 houses. [A photo of the minister showing a sample of the "bio-electricity lanterns to be given away to every household in Kungyangon township" accompanies the news item in the print edition of NLM.]

NLM, 09/04/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-04-09.pdf

Western Commander Thaung Aye and Industry-2 Minister Soe Thein on 5 April met with local people in Rathedaung town in Arakan and introduced the use of the bio-battery as a way of lighting homes that will cut down on expenses on a year-round basis. They also presented a sample set of a bio-battery and 1,500 lamp shades installed with 60-watt LED bulbs to officials. At the Basic Education Primary School in Yachaung village of Ponnagyun township, they met with local residents and, after explaining the use of the bio-battery, donated 100 lamp shades installed with 60-watt LED bulbs and 1,600 batteries to officials. In Ponnagyun town the commander and the minister introduced the use of the bio-battery to the people and gave a sample set consisting of a bio-battery and 2,000 lamp shades installed with 60-watt bulbs. [A photo of the demonstration in Yachaung accompanies the news item in the print edition of NLM.]

NLM, 08/04/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-04-08.pdf

Prime Minister Thein Sein and party visit the villages of Setsan in Bogale township and Daw Nyein and Daminseik in Pyapon township, in each of which a demonstration of the bio-battery’s electric current producing capabilities takes place. “At the meeting in Daw Nyein, Maj-Gen Soe Naing explained the use and making of a bio-battery to the local people. Next, the PM said that local people can easily produce a bio- battery with the use of wastes available in their surroundings, calling on the village chairman and officials concerned to make arrangements for every house to have easy access to electricity in the villages in 2009. Afterwards, the ministers and deputy ministers presented bio-batteries, vegetables seeds, clothes and milk powder tins through officials concerned.”

NLM, 06/04/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-04-06.pdf

Prime Minister Thein Sein and party arrived by helicopter at Theikpan-gongyi village in Labutta township where they they met with departmental officials and local people and explained the use of bio-batteries in combination with cow dung and salt to produce electric current that could light their homes. [Compiler’s note: Photos of Theikpan-gongyi village (15° 57' N, 94° 36' E), near the mouth of the Ywe river and one of the villages hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, accompany the article in the print edition of NLM. This is the first mention of the use of bio-batteries in Myanmar.

NLM, 06/04/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-04-06.pdf

Gen Myint Swe of the MoD and Yangon Commander Win Myint visit the factory of MMTEI on Parami street in Hlaing township in Yangon. They are briefed by an adviser on production of LED bulbs and bio-batteries and the generation of solar-power. [Compiler's note: A photo of the generals and factory officials inspecting the production of the bulbs accompanies the news item in the print edition of NLM. A variety of equipment is listed as being manufactured at the factory on the MMTEI website http://www.industry2.gov.mm/mtei.htm. Generators of varying capacities from 5 KVA up to 100 KVA have also been produced and tested at the factory.

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OFFICIAL OPENING OF KENGTAWNG FALLS HYDROPOWER STATION

NLM, 25/03/09. (edited and abridged) http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-03-25.pdf

A ceremony to open Kengtawng hydel power plant was held at the plant near Kengtawng waterfalls [on 21 March 2009] with an address by Prime Minister Thein Sein. Among those present were Deputy General Manager Shoji Tsutsui of Kansai Electric Power Co of Japan, technicians of China National Electrical Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) and Zeing Orient Holding Group of China, government officials, army officers, performing troupes, local authorities, departmental personnel, social organizations and local people.
General Thein Sein said that the 54-MW Kengtawng plant and the recently completed 600-MW Shweli hydel power plant in Shan State North are large scale hydel stations that will be connected with the national grid and contribute to both regional and national development. At present, power generated from Kengtawng hydel power plant is being distributed to Kengtawng, Loilem, Namhsan (Namzang), Langkho, Mongnai, Mongpan, Maukmai, Panglong and Laikha in Shan State South and will assist in improving the socioeconomic status of those regions. Moreover, the Upper Kengtawng hydel power project, under implementation, will be able to feed power to the output of Kengtawng power plant and contribute a lot to both Shan State and the nation.
Up to 1988, he said, there were only three small-scale hydel power plants in Shan State, one in Namkhan, one in Muse and one in Tatgyi. Since then small and medium scale hydel power plants such as Namhmyaw, Namhsaungngon, Pakyethaw, Namhsaung Creek, Zawgyi-1, Zawgyi-2, Namshan Creek, Namwout, Maipan, Mongla, Namlap, and Hsilu have emerged.
Since 1988, he said, the Tatmadaw government had commissioned a total of 12 hydel power plants, namely, Hsedawgyi, Baluchaung-1, Zawgyi-1, Zawgyi-2, Zaungtu, Thaphanseik, Paunglaung, Mone, Pathi, Yenwe, Khabaung and Kengtawng, that together are capable of generating 599 megawatts for the national grid. Power generated from hydel power plants has increased three times when compared with the period before 1988 when the Lawpita-2 and Kinta power stations, with a [combined] generating capacity of 196 [224?] megawatts, were the only large hydropower plants in the country. Moreover, the Shweli and Upper Kengtawng projects in Shan state, the Yeywa, Upper Paunglaung and Namcho projects in Mandalay division, the Lower and Upper Bu projects and Kyi-ohn Kyi-wa projects along Mone creek in Magway division, the Htamanthi, Shwesaye, Manipur, Yazagyo, and Myittha projects in the Chindwin basin, the Phyu creek, Kun creek, Shwekyin and Thaukyekhat- 2 projects in Bago division and the Thahtay creek, Saingtin and An creek projects in Rakhine state are all under implementation. Feasibility studies are being made for the implementation of major projects on the Thanlwin and Ayeyawady.
Eastern Commander Yar Pyae clarified that Kengtawng hydroelectric power plant would bring about industrial developments in Mongnai, Langkho, Mongpan and Maukmai where power could not be fully supplied in the past. He said that river water pumping projects could now be operated with electricity produced by the hydropower station. This would mean that double and triple cropping would be seen in the agricultural sector. He expressed thanks to the staff of the HPID of the EPM No 1 for their active participation in the timely completion of the facility. On behalf of the local people, U Yaw Han Kha from No 5 Ward of Kengtawng expressed thanks to the government for the establishment of the facility.
After the ceremony the PM inspected the sluice gate, the water intake structure and the channel above the Kengtawng waterfall. Then he posed for a documentary picture with Mr Shoji Tsutsui of the Kansai Electric Power Co.
Kengtawng hydel power plant is near Kengtawng waterfalls on Namtein creek about 30 miles north-east of Mongnai in Shan State South. It was started in 2004 by Construction Group-7 of the HPID. Test run operation of the plant was begun on 30 October 2008. The three 18-MW generators installed at the facility will produce an average of 377.6 million kilowatt hours a year. Power will be supplied to the townships of Loilem and Langkho districts through 132-kV power lines, as well as to other states and divisions through the national grid. It was built at a cost of K 15285 million and US$ 19.56 million. [Photos of the power plant and switching yard with the waterfalls in the background are included in the print edtion of NLM.]
Additional references
Data summary Kengtawng Falls
See ‘Kengtawng hydropower plant nearly ready to produce electricity’ (MT: 29/0908) for details of the project leading up to the commissioning.
NLM, 01/10/11. Edited and condensed. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs12/NLM2011-10-01.pdf

During the session of the Pyithu Hluttaw on 30/09/11, Daw Nan Wa Nu of Kunhing constituency asked whether power would be supplied project to Kunhing in Shan State South from the Kengtawng hydropower plant. EPM-2 Khin Maung Soe said that a 74-mile-long, 132-KV line had been built between the Kengtawng Falls station and Namhsan and that a 132/66/11-KV, 75-MVA main power station had been opened at Namhsan as a first step. Since then, transmission lines had from Namhsan to Pimpet and Kalaw, from Namhsan to Mongnaiand Langkhio, as well as power stations; in addition, a 66-KV line had been put into place between Namhsan and Kholan and a 66/11-KV KV, 5-MVA power station had been opened in Kholan in 2010. He said the ministry had plans to construct 33-mile-long, 66-KV line between Kholan and Kunhing and that a 66/11-KV, 5-MVA power station would be built in Kunhing that would supply power to the town from the national grid.

U Sai Oum Hsai Mong of Kehsi constituency asked what plans the EPM-2 had to supply power to Mongnan model village in Mongnawng sub-township, given that access to electric power was of vital importance to rural development undertakings and environmental conservation work. EPM-2 Khin Maung Soe replied that electric power was being supplied to the 66/11-KV, 5-MVA power station in Wamhsin through a 20-mile-long line between Kholan and Wamhsin and that there were only about 5 miles more to complete of a 22-mile-long, 66-KV-line between Wamhsin-Mongnawng. However, because of security conditions there were delays. It was expected that the project would resume soon. In the meantime, power was being supplied to Mongnawng with a 35-KVA diesel generator. He said that villages and private owners who wished to use power from the grid could do so on a self-reliant basis; after electricity is supplied to the Mongnawng power station and that Mongnawng village-tract would be permitted to do so in accordance with the regulations.
NLM, 18/05/11. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-05-18.pdf

EPM-2 Khin Maung Soe inspects power accessibility in Loilem, Namsang [Namzang], Laikha, Panglong, Mongpong and Kholan [Kholam] from 66-KV power grid in Loilem of Shan State South, installation of the extended 66-KV Loilem-Panglong-Laikha-Mongkai [Mongkung] power grid and the Kholan-Wumsin-Mongnawng power grid and yjr yet-to-be installed 66-KV Mongnawng-Kehsi, Mongnawng-Monghsu, Mongnawng-Mongsan power grids. He also visits 132-KV main power station in Namsang and checks on the construction of power stations in Kholan, Wumsin, Mongnawng and Mongkai and Hopong. While visiting the electrical engineer's office in Hopong he meets with Shan State Minister for Electric Power Sai Tun Yin and and Chairman San Lwin of the Pa-O Self-Administered Area for discussions related to distribution of electricity. [For a map showing many of the stations and transmission lines listed in this article, see Map 6 in Annex 1 below.

Yan Gyi Aung, NLM, 20/04/09. Edited and abridged.

http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/NLM2009-04-20.pdf

The installation of transmission lines and construction of power stations that will link the Kengtawng generating plant to the main towns in the Loilem and Langkho districts of Shan State South is still underway. A total of 114 miles of 132-KV transmission lines, 211 miles of 66-KV transmission lines, 75 miles of 33-KV lines and 81 miles of 11-KV lines are under construction. 132-KV transmission lines are being used along the 73 miles between Kengtawng, Kholan and Namhsan (Namzang) power stations and the 41 miles between Namhsan and Pinpet. 66-KV transmission lines are being installed along the 82 miles between Namhsan, Loilem and Mongkai, the 44 miles between Kholan and Mongnaung, the 33 miles between Kholan and Kunhing, and the 52 miles between Namhsan, Mongnai and Langkho. 33-KV power lines are being used along the 38 miles between Mongnaung and Monghsu, and the 37 miles between Mongnaung and Kehsi. 11-KV power lines are being installed along the 18-mile section from the power plant at the falls to the town of Kengtawng, as well as the 32 miles between Mongnai and Maukmai and the 31 miles between Langkho and Mongpan. Plans are also underway to provide electricity to other states and divisions through the national power grid. [Two photos showing the interior of the generating station the Kengtawng Falls accompany the article in the print edtion of NLM. One shows the control room, the other, the three “vertical-type Francis generators” installed in the plant. Other details omitted here are covered by the key article on the inauguration above. For a bird’s-eye view of the of the transmission lines and towns mentioned in this item, see Map 6 in Annex 1 below.]

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HYDROPOWER PROJECTS GENERATE CONCERN IN SOUTH ASIA

Steve Herman, Asian Energy, 15/03/09.

http://asianenergy.blogspot.com/2009/03/hydro-power-projects-continue-to.html
Asia is grappling with how to balance its burgeoning demand for energy against protection of the environment and society. The conflict is apparent in some of the region's most ambitious infrastructure projects, which involve building dams, changing courses of rivers and erecting transmission lines to bring electricity to energy, deprived homes and businesses.
In New Delhi, an ethnic group from the border region of India and Burma, known as Kukis, marched to protest construction of the Tamanthi Dam in Burma. By Indian standards their protest was small and quiet. Most passersby near the parliament in New Delhi ignored the 50 tribal demonstrators, including women and young children. They are opposed to the plan by Indian state-owned companies to harness Burma's Chindwin River and export 2,400 MW of electricity to India. The dam is also touted for controlling flooding and irrigating farms.
Patrick McCully, executive director of Rivers International, an environmental advocacy group, argues that these projects do more harm than good. "They destroy rivers. They eradicate whole eco-systems," he said. "This may come as a surprise to a lot of people but big reservoirs in tropical areas have very high emissions of greenhouse gases because of all of the rotting vegetation in the reservoirs. The global warming impact of big reservoirs in the tropics can be even higher than coal-fired plants."
Such projects frequently displace communities. "Very few of those people are able to regain their previous living standards. People are impoverished, pushed off into slums, indebted," he added. "They lose their land. They lose jobs. They lose the social cohesion of their communities. The record of the authorities, in terms of being able to enable people to regain or improve their living standards, is abysmal."
Lulun, the president of the Kuki Student Democratic Front, says this is already happening to his people in Burma (also known as Myanmar) where their ancestral land is being cleared to build the Tamanthi Dam. "There is forced labor. Land confiscation is there. Two, three villages are already relocated without any compensation. They lost their paddy fields. They lost their houses and they have many hardships," said Lulun. "Apart from that we are concerned with environmental degradation. There are tigers, lions, even elephants there."
The World Bank, which is not funding the Tamanthi Dam project, estimates that Burma has the potential to generate annually 100,000 megawatts of electricity from its rivers. The World Bank itself, in recent years, however, has backed away from supporting large-scale, hydro-power projects in Asia. "The institutions didn't appear to be as sensitive to some of the environmental and social concern of this development than we felt comfortable with. So it was really more of a reputational risk issue," said Salman Zaheer, the bank's South Asia energy sector manager.
Rivers International estimates that, in India alone, somewhere between 20 million and 50 million people have been evicted from their homes by hydroelectric projects. China, as well as India, is looking beyond its borders for new sources of hydro-electricity. The Chinese are planning or implementing such projects in Burma, Nepal and Thailand.
Environmentalists acknowledge the huge unmet power needs in the developing world. But McCully contends many of the dams would not need to be built if the existing infrastructure was more efficient. "There's a huge amount of energy wasted in the existing systems, in terms of how electricity is generated and transmitted and used by the end-user," said McCully. "The first priority should always be to make the system as efficient as possible before adding all the expense and the environmental impacts and the social impacts you get with most of the new types of supply."

A study, partly funded by the World Bank, has shown that many of the more ambitious hydroelectric schemes have not lived up to expectations - generating less power and irrigating far fewer hectares than forecast. Zaheer says backers of these projects need to learn from the past and be aware of emerging challenges. "I think we have to approach hydropower development, particularly in the Himalayas, with the utmost humility," added Zaheer. "These are young mountains. As we face climate change it is causing glaciers to melt faster and more unpredictably. So it is bringing down a lot more silt, boulders and other things than before." Such events diminish the capacity of the dams and disrupt the function of power generation stations. It also adds another layer of concern for those funding and building such projects.

Additional references
See below: ‘China petitioned on Burma dam projects’ (dpa: 02/12/07)

‘Plans for Htamanthi dam project on Chindwin near finalization’ (MT: 28/08/06)

See also other articles listed under Export Projects in the Topical Index EP
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