Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

GAS IN SHORT SUPPLY TO MEET DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY

Minh Zaw, Myanmar Times, 17/09/07. http://mmtimes.com/no384/n010.htm

An YESB official said early this month that round-the-clock electricity supplies in the city would likely end by the end of November. “When the rainy season ends we lose a lot of our hydropower. But if we had enough natural gas supplies we could keep the power on 24 hours a day,” he said.
During the rainy season Yangon gets 200 MW of electricity from a hydropower station in Lawpita in Kayah State and an additional 200 MW from four gas-based power stations, which is enough for the city but not enough to power the outlying industrial zones. According to the EPM No 2, 99 million cu ft of onshore gas or 134 mmcf of offshore gas are needed for Yangon’s four gas-based power stations to run at full capacity of more than 300 MW. However, the current supplies of 59.46 mmcf are only enough to produce about 200 MW.
In the meantime, Yangon’s total power needs have skyrocketed to 530 MW this year, up from 430 MW last year, resulting in difficulty providing 24-hour electricity supplies to the city even during the rainy season. “Increasing demand from IZs and increasing use of electric appliances have contributed to supply shortages,” the YESB official said. He said officials at the ministry were always busy trying to figure out ways to distribute available energy supplies to people in the city. “We've divided the city into three areas but we have also developed 79 patterns of power distribution depending on the situation,” the official said.
He said he was optimistic about the future of electricity supplies in Myanmar. “Right now about 19pc of the country is on the national grid, with 60pc of the electricity going to Yangon and 40pc going to the rest of the country. But projects are underway to build hydropower dams that will produce more than 21,000 MW. So far we’re getting about 700 MW from hydropower,” he said. “The present problems with electricity will be solved by the end of 2009, we think,” the official said.
Additional references
See above: Power supply improves in Rangoon (Mizzima: 28/07/09)

‘Generator sales spike upwards in Yangon’ (MT: 15/12/08)

‘More gas to be diverted from Yadana for national use’ (MT: 14/01/08)

‘Full reservoirs to boost hydropower’ (MT: 19/11/07)

See below: ‘Pipeline to solve electricity shortages’ (MT: 16/09/02)
Xinhua, 03/07/08. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/03/content_8482390.htm

More natural gas will be needed in addition to hydropower to generate the 500+ MW of electricity to supply the round-the-clock needs of the country’s largest city, the weekly Yangon Times reported on 03/07/08. The journal quoted the EPM No 2 as saying that it requires a total of 135 million cubic-feet (3.82 million cubic-meters) of gas to meet the daily demand for electricity in Yangon. Of this total, 100 million cf/d would be needed from off-shore gas fields with the rest available from on-shore fields. According to the report only 67 MCF of offshore gas and 27 MCF of onshore gas are available daily for the generation of electricity in Yangon. At present, the city gets only 250 MW of electricity which has to be distributed alternately to the townships in the city. [Compiler’s note: The gas volumes in the sentence beginning, Of this total, have been corrected.]

BBC Burmese Service, 23/04/08.

http://www.burmanet.org/news/2008/04/23/bbc-news-rangoon-life-powerless-and-nervous/

From an interview with an anonymous Yangon resident: "Our country's situation is getting worse. We used to get electricity and power for six hours a day. Now it has reduced to five hours a day. Sometimes the power is from 5pm one evening to 5am the next morning, and sometimes it comes on close to midnight and goes off at 5am. The blackouts mean people cannot channel water up to their apartments. Can you imagine what our life is like here? Meanwhile the economy is getting worse, the price of commodities is rising sky-high, while people's incomes just don't change. The junta is building dams for hydropower but the power hasn't arrived yet. After years of being broken the power station hasn't been repaired because they don't have any spare parts.”

Kyaw Thu, Myanmar Times, 31/03/08. http://www.mmtimes.com/no412/b_brief.htm

Yangon will receive an additional 2 mmcf/d of natural gas in coming months thanks to a successful drilling program at the Maubin gasfield, the state-run Mirror newspaper reported on March 21. Most of the new supply will be used in electric power plants in Yangon. The gas was discovered at Well No 5 on the field. MOGE will conduct more exploration activities in the Maubin region, 18 miles (29 km) south of the Nyaungdon gasfield. The natural gas deposits in and around Maubin are all shallow wells and these formations usually only yield gas.

Banyol Kin, IMNA, 30/01/08.

http://www.bnionline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3442&Itemid=6

Power supply is being cut off day and night in Rangoon . "We only get electricity twice a week. Busineses that depend on electricity have to have alternate supply like engine power, [i.e. from private generators]" said a Rangoon resident. Internet cafes and other shops run on electricity hardly generate income and yet the cost of electricity has doubled, said an internet shop owner. "Today I wanted to copy my photograph from my digital camera but the shop owner was unable to do it because there was no electricity. The fuel price has also increased so they are unable to generate electricity from generators," said a Rangoon resident.

NLM, 11/12/07. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/07nlm/n071211.htm

A coordination meeting on power supply to the states and divisions including Yangon division was held at the meeting hall of the ministry in Nay Pyi Taw, on 8 December. After EPM No 2 Khin Maung Myint made an opening speech, Chief Engineers Tin Maung Tun and Aung Khine briefed the minister on work in progress. MD Tin Aung of EPSE, MD San Oo of MEPE and D-G Thein Tun of HEPD gave supplementary reports. After hearing the reports, Deputy EPM No 2 Win Myint reported on dealing with the public and efficient use of funds in running the project and timely completion of project tasks. Next, the minister called for close supervision in the supply of power as consumption is on the increase. He said the public should be made aware of [matters related to] power supply starting immediately.

Mizzima 23/11/07.

http://www.bnionline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3063&Itemid=6

The erratic supply of electricity in Rangoon has further worsened. Except for very important areas such as the Bogyoke market, Tamwe market, and a few other localities, residents in Rangoon said power black outs are the order of the day in most townships. Earlier, authorities supplied electricity and effected power cuts on a rotational basis in different townships, but recently the supply of power has become much more erratic, residents said. Even VIP areas such as Bahan township no longer enjoy uninterrupted supply. Though most townships have been facing regular power black-outs since October, the industrial township of Hlaingtharya has been receiving regular power supply. However, workers at the industrial zone in Hlaingthaya township said they received a notice yesterday stating that electricity would be cut-off in the township from 5pm to 11pm. "We received a notice from the electricity department saying that electricity will be cut-off from 5pm to 11pm. Since we are in the administrative office, we have to inform all the 500 industries in the township. But most industries use their own generators for power supply," a manager in the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone told Mizzima.

Total: Yadana [undated: beginning of 2007]. http://burma.total.com/en/contexte/p_1_3.htm

Contractually, Myanmar is entitled to take up to 20% of Yadana's production for domestic consumption. Until recently, it was taking about half of its entitlement, with 40 to 50 million cubic feet per day (1.1 to 1.4 million cubic meters per day). Since December 2006, it is taking 100 to 110 million cubic feet per day (2.8 to 3.1 million cubic meters per day). The gas is piped further north to a cement factory in Myaingkalay and then to Yangon via a pipeline built and operated by MOGE that ties into the Yadana pipeline at Kanbauk.

See below: ‘More gas needed for 24/7 power in Yangon (MT: 02/07/07)

‘Full power supply promised for July’ (MT: 04/06/07)

‘Electricity supplies get boost from YESB plan’ (MT: 24/07/06)

‘Pipeline to solve electricity shortages’ (MT: 16/09/02)

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RISING WORLD LEAD PRICES ZAP YANGON BATTERY MARKET

Sann Oo, Myanmar Times, 10/09/07. http://mmtimes.com/no383/b005.htm

Prices of batteries in Myanmar are rising in line with soaring international prices for lead. However, the full impact is not likely to be felt until the dry summer months because of currently good electricity supplies due to full hydropower lakes, battery traders in Yangon said. Lead acid batteries enjoy regular sales to vehicle owners but sales to customers using them to augment electricity supplies at home tend to peak during the hot months of February through May, the dealers said.
Lead cost US$1,200 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange (LME) one year ago but has since almost tripled to around $3,300. According to the LME, batteries account for 71pc of the world’s lead consumption. “The world price for lead has gone up about 75pc in recent months and that affects costs for battery producers worldwide and they have to raise the prices of their batteries,” said U Than Oo, MD of Best Battery Trading Co Ltd, which stocks Atlas batteries imported from South Korea. “Some foreign producers have cut back their production and our supplier only sent part of our last order,” he said. Over the past year battery prices in Yangon have risen 10-20pc, he added.
U Than Oo said some manufacturers use recycled lead acid to be able to offer cheaper products. “Pure lead costs about 30pc more than recycled lead but recycled lead is lower quality and results in a shorter lifespan for batteries,” he said.
Most of Myanmar’s discarded batteries are exported to China where battery makers recycle the lead, often sending the lead back into Myanmar in the form of new batteries. “Every part of a battery can be used again so China buys up the old batteries,” U Than Oo said.
Additional references
See below: ‘Inverters keep lights and TV sets running’ (MT: 04/07/05)

'Local battery brands compete with imports' (MT: 24/11/03)

Aye Sapay Phyu, MT, 02/06/08. http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/care2008/care02.htm

U Than Htike Lwin of Proven Technology Industry, manufacturer of Toyo batteries, said many new technologies and gadgets rely on batteries for their power supply. He said Toyo lead acid batteries are manufactured in Myanmar, according to Japanese industrial standards. “We manufacture them using 99.99pc pure lead. The raw materials are produced by Yangon Metal Industry Co Ltd, which is the only large-scale private supplier of purified lead in the Myanmar market. Being able to get enough standard purified lead locally cuts a lot of the extra expense,” he said. The chemical components are imported from Italy and Japan in order to get the best quality products.

Kyaw Zin Htun, Myanmar Times, 10/03/07. http://www.mmtimes.com/no409/b001.htm

Recycled lead mass-produced at the factory of the Yangon Metal Industry Co in the Shwe Pyi Thar IZ will replace imported lead for the first time. U Than Htike Lwin, director of the company, said the recycled metal, which is 99pc pure, will be mainly used in Toyo batteries produced by Proven Technology, a sister company. “About 95pc of the total lead consumption of Toyo batteries will be produced from this factory,” he said. Until now, only small- and medium-sized companies had produced the metal. This is the first time that recycled lead has been mass-produced in Myanmar – normally it is sold to Chinese companies and exported. Two new kinds of lead – tin-based and calcium lead – are at the testing stage, and the company hopes to market them next November. The factory, which was built in 2003, can produce on average of 300 and 500 tonnes a month, U Than Htike Lwin said. “Although quality is important, the price is more important. If this factory can produce quality lead at a reasonable price, it has the potential to attract interest from local battery manufacturers,” said U Aung Min Oo, the owner of two locally produced battery companies, Lwin Star and Hein. Nearly all local battery manufacturers use lead produced by small- and medium-sized producers by recycling old batteries. The average market price of lead this month is about K4100 a viss, which is 1.6 kilograms or 3.6 pounds.

Kyaw Zin Htun, MT, 17/12/07. http://www.mmtimes.com/no397/b002.htm

Proven Technology Industry Co, maker of domestically produced Toyo batteries, plans to make tubular battery, the first of its kind in Myanmar. They are called tubular batteries because the lead plate is made from linked tubes rather than the perfectly flat plates normal wet-cell batteries use. The type is already popular internationally but hasn’t been tried yet in Myanmar, according to Toyo GM Than Htike Lwin. He said it is well suited for use with solar panels. The company plans to produce tubular batteries with capacities ranging from 250 to 800 amps which will be distributed to government projects and private businesses. The lifespan of tubular batteries will be at least two-and-a-half to three years and they are expected to last twice as long as normal batteries. The tubular batteries will be produced at the company’s factory in Shwe Pyi Tha IZ. They will cost 25pc more but deliver twice the performance.

Kyaw Zin Htun and Kyaw Hsu Mon, MT, 10/12/07. http://www.mmtimes.com/no396/b002.htm

The domestic car battery and inverter industry is facing stiff challenges as the domestic and international price of lead – the main raw material – increases production costs, producers said last week. Only two local companies mass-produce batteries in Myanmar – GP and Toyo – but small- and medium-scale producers have been popping up around the country in recent years. Some of them have been forced to suspend their production because lead is too difficult, or expensive, to buy. Daw Rosie Rao, the managing director of GP Battery Industries Private Ltd, said the price of lead had nearly doubled in the past year – from US$2000 a tonne in October last year to between $3800-4000 now. “We’ve had to increase the price of our batteries because raw material costs have increased significantly,” she said, adding that the company imports its lead from Australia. U Than Htike Lwin, general manager of Proven Technology Industry Co, which makes Toyo batteries, said the company has been skirting around the international price rises by buying lead locally and then refining it for production. He said smaller manufacturers that do not have the same resources are being forced out of production. “Chinese battery companies are buying as many of the discarded batteries in Myanmar as they can and then recycling the lead at their factories. This is also pushing up the price of lead,” he said. U Than Htike Lwin said that when used batteries are available they sell for between K800 and K1000 a viss (about $480 a tonne). U Kyaw Sein, a battery retailer in Latha township, said most customers this year have been buying 120-amp instead of 150-amp batteries because prices are too high. A 150-amp GP battery retails for about K160,000, while a GS battery, imported from Thailand, sells for about K167,000, meaning there is little price advantage in buying local. “Last year the 150-amp batteries were our best-selling item but this year the 120-amp batteries are out-selling them,” he said. U Kyaw Maung, the manager of Arrthit Battery sales centre in Tarme township, said that some customers have chosen to buy imported batteries because the price gap between them and locally produced versions has narrowed so much.

JICA, MEPE, Nippon Koei, Institute of Energy Economics Japan. The Study on Introduction of Renewable Energies in Rural Areas in Myanmar: Final Report: Volume 1: Summary, pp 9, 18. http://lvzopac.jica.go.jp/external/library?func=function.opacsch.mmdsp&view=view.opacsch.mmindex&shoshisbt=1&shoshino=0000159772&volno=0000000000&filename=11734100_01.pdf&seqno=1

Lighting systems supplied by battery charging stations (BCS) have been widely introduced in Myanmar since the early 1970s. 24pc of households at the national level and 32pc in rural areas were found to be using them during a household income and expenditure survey carried out by the Central Statistical Organization in 1998. Lighting is by 4-8 watt fluorescent lights. Battery-lighting systems were introduced when kerosene disappeared from the market after the first world oil crisis in 1973. Before that kerosene lights were the main source of lighting for farm households. As a result of the non-availability of kerosene, many BCSs, powered either by the grid or by small diesel generators, operate on a commercial basis countrywide. However, batteries and fluorescent lights available in the market have a short lifetime and need frequent replacement. In the households that cannot afford to buy a fluorescent light at about $1.00, people use small incandescent bulbs that are less bright but are cheaper and last longer than fluorescent lights. These battery-lighting systems provide valuable lighting for dinner and communication among the family. However, such lighting is inadequate for children to read books and may even weaken their eyesight. Battery recycling shops are in operation on a commercial basis in most parts of the country. Batteries are collected nationwide and recycling manufacturers in Yangon produce recycled batteries. The cases and connectors are recycled at shops operating in local areas. This recycling process reduces the disposal of old batteries and helps to reduce environment pollution.

Compiler's Note: Good pictures of a battery charging station and household lighting system with fluorescent lights are available on page 9 of Volume I. A separate volume in the same series, entitled Memo on Interviews/Field Surveys in Villages for Rural Electrification: February 2001 - November 2002, presents interesting examples of the use of the battery operated lighting system on pages 57, 59, 60, 62, 66, 68, 72, 73, 85, 87-89. Many of these examples involve price comparisons between different sources of power used in charging the batteries such as diesel operated generators, rice husk gas systems and solar panels.

http://lvzopac.jica.go.jp/external/library?func=function.opacsch.mmdsp&view=view.opacsch.mmindex&shoshisbt=1&shoshino=0000159779&volno=0000000000&filename=11734175_03.pdf&seqno=3
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PETROL SUBSIDIES AND THE PRICE OF ELECTRICITY

San Oo Aung, Burma Digest, 02/09/07. Excerpt.

http://burmadigest.info/2007/08/29/analysis-of-how-tatmadaw-had-ruined-the-myanmar-economy
PM U Nu started the Lawpita electricity generation project before Ne Win took over. “To make paradise on earth with the use of electricity” was his famous slogan. It really generated and sparked a lot of progress after that dam started electricity distribution.
But with the population growth and natural degeneration of the turbines, Myanmar is now sliding into hell. Because of lack of proper planning and lack of hard currency, even in Yangon people get electricity in short shifts. In the second largest city, Mandalay, people get electricity once every few days. Only Naypyitaw gets regular 24-hour electricity supply. School children, offices, all industries and factories suffer. Fans, air conditioners, lifts, escalators, fridges and freezers are all useless unless the owners have their own back-up supply.
But the fuel to run those generators is like a luxury. Petroleum and diesel are restricted items sold by rationing with permits. People have to buy from the roadside smugglers, if they need them. APC sells petroleum and permits. There are frequent problems because of adulteration and fire hazards from the illegal improper storage by these petrol hawkers.
The rights of energy generation, production and distribution are jealously guarded by the Myanmar military. If they can’t manage after forty long years, they should allow local and foreign players to get involved. Advice from experts of the World Bank and IMF that the Myanmar military should stop fuel subsidies is false and short-sighted. Their statements make it look like the SPDC is doing the right thing.
The very low earning power of the Myanmar people, which is even ridiculously lower if converted into foreign currency at the black market exchange rate, must taken into consideration. It is clear that to force the whole population, including the low-earning poor, to use vitally needed commodities like petrol or gas at the black-market exchange rate is totally wrong.
Additional references
See above: ‘Chaungzon supplied with electricity at a big loss’ (NLM: 29/03/11)
See below: 'Fuel price increase impacts industrial use of electricity' (IRROL: 15/08/07)

'Electricity rates raised, subsidies for civil servants dropped' (AP: 15/05/06)

‘Electricity woes continue’ (IRROL: 11/05/01)
Alfred Oehlers, IRROL, 22/08/07. Excerpt. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8318

Burma is essentially a diesel-powered economy. We see this in the buses, trains and trucks that rumble around the country. We also see this in the dilapidated power plants that sometimes generate electricity. Most of all, we see this in the ubiquitous portable generators that exist in nearly every home, factory and shop that can afford one. For a long time now, diesel prices have been kept artificially low through subsidies. But as demand for diesel has continued to grow in tandem with an expanding economy, the amount spent on these subsidies has similarly expanded, posing an ever increasing strain on the regime’s finances. The only solution has been to import diesel, since Burma’s ageing refineries simply cannot refine crude volumes sufficient to meet demand. And as this is usually done at spot market prices, it is an extremely costly solution.

Ko Thet and John S. Moncrief, IRROL,11/05/01. Excerpt. Edited and condensed.

http://www.irrawaddymedia.com/article.php?art_id=3374

In the past week, the black market value of the Burmese kyat has dropped to its lowest ever with a rate of 920 kyat per US$1, according to Rangoon based currency traders. Analysts point to several reasons including increased consumption by household electricity generators to compensate for the rationing of electricity. In the past Rangoon neighborhoods regularly received electricity for half a day, but this has been reduced to just two or three hours. Complicating matters further has been Burma’s strained relations with Thailand. Since the border flare up, the military has deployed many of its forces along the border with Thailand, including fifty Chinese tanks that were sent from Kengtung in the Shan State to the Thai border. Since then, the military has taken a larger share of fuel imports to supply the military. This comes at a time when Thailand has cut its supply of petrol and electricity to Burma on the order of Thai 3rd Army Commander Wattanachai Chaimuenwong. However, petrol traders have circumvented the halt on commerce at the Mae Sai-Tachilek, checkpoint by sending goods by boat up the Mekong River to a port across from Laos, according to one Thai-based Burma watcher. The delays in distribution and increased need for fuel by the military have driven up the price, said an analyst in Chiang Mai. The government responded on May 1st, by cutting the ration of gasoline for private cars from three gallons to two gallons per day. They have also arrested some black market gas sellers, according to a businessman based in Rangoon.

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