Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

INVENTOR CO-OP SOCIETY EXPORTS FIRST RICE-HUSK GENERATORS

Kyaw Thu, Myanmar Times, 21/08/06

(Compiler’s note: Issue 330 of the Myanmar Times is not available on-line.)
The Myanmar Inventor Cooperative Society has agreed to sell Laos rice-husk-fuelled electricity generators in a deal worth US$1.5 million that marks the group’s first sale abroad. An MoU was signed July 28 with the Laos Ministry of Energy and Mines to provide the mid-sized renewable energy plants. The deal follows the ASEAN-organised Fifth Renewable Energy Project Competition held in Brunei in June where the society won third place for its rice-husk power plant design.
U Soe Tint Aung, president of the inventors’ society, said the generators sold to Laos would have a power range of 20 kilowatts to 50kw and were to be exported this year, with installation work to begin in 2007. He said that Laos had not yet decided how many or exactly what size generators it wanted. “The final contract will be signed in October,” U Soe Tint Aung said. “We don’t know whether they will buy 20kw or 50kw plants.”
The society would build a small factory in Laos and train local people how to operate the generators, he added. “We will set up the power plants up in areas where there is no connection to the national power grid.” U Soe Tint Aung said the generators were not reliant solely on rice husks and could be run on branches and other kinds of plant waste.
The society was also set to ink a joint venture deal with a Thai electricity company last Thursday for five rice-husk power plants that produced between 650kw and 1000kw. “Although this is joint venture, we will try to manufacture the entire generator in Myanmar,” U Soe Tint Aung said. He added that the society had also received orders from Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. “The award (from the Fifth Renewable Energy Project Competition) helped us penetrate new markets,” the 18-year industry veteran said.
The society has sold more than 470 of the generators in Myanmar, although U Soe Tint Aung said the deal with Laos was the first time they had exported their generators.
Additional references
Compiler’s Note: The extracts immediately below relate mainly to the manufacture or assembly of gasifier-generator sets at various locations in Burma/Myanmar. Links to other entries in the compendium dealing with paddy (rice) husk generators are found at the end of this entry.
NLM, 06/06/11. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-06-06.pdf

During a visit to Kalay, Sagaing Region Chief Minister Tha Aye met with members of the Kalay Industrial Zone Management Committee and industrialists and called for the manufacture of quality automobiles and paddy husk-fired gasifiers.

NLM, 19/06/07. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/07nlm/n070619.htm

At a state-owned vest factory in Kyaukse, the Minister of Industry No 1 and party view a demonstration of producing electricity using a paddy husk-fired plant.

NLM, 30/05/07. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/07nlm/n070530.htm

Industrialists at the Kalay IZ explain the assembly of husk-fired generators, power distribution and the manufacture of small-scale generators to Lt-Gen Ye Myint of the Defence Dept. He visits a husk-fired power station in the zone which is supplying power to 450 houses in four villages close to the IZ. The 300-kVa generator of the station consumes eight to twelve baskets of paddy husk per hour. The generator is a product of the zone. Other editions of NLM that refer to the manufacture of small-scale hydro turbines by workshops in the Kalay IZ: 16/08/06, 05/05/06, 25/03/05, 14/06/04, 19/01/04. U Aung Min is the proprietor of a workshop which assembles jeeps and other vehicles.

NLM, 05-03-07. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/07nlm/n070305.htm

The Yangon Commander and the EP Minister No 2 inspect a 'fuel-substitute factory' in Hlinethaya IZ where they check over paddy husk-fired engines. A total of 519 15KV-100 KV generators have been produced since 1995. The generators are used widely in water pumping projects, ice factories, saw mills and watercraft. The 'inspection' was followed later in the month by a visit to the factory by delegates to a renewable energy conference sponsored by ASEAN. The Myanmar Inventors' Co-op won an ASEAN Alternative Energy Award in 2006 (NLM: 26/03/07). A good picture of some of the products and the workers at the Inventors' Co-op factory in Hlaingthaya is available on the front page of the print edition of NLM of 06/07/07. http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs2/NLM2007-07-06.pdf. See also NLM: 20/06/06 in which U Soe Tint Aung explains the 20pc saving in fuel costs through the use a mixture of diesel and paddy husk gas and on the test run of 180-HP engine using the mixture.

NLM, 17/11/06. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/06nlm/n061117.htm

Lt-Gen Khin Maung Than visits the fuel-substitute paddy husk-fired power generator industry of Mann Cho and Sons Co in Hsamalauk Village in Nyaungdon township. For more on village electrification at Hsamalauk see the extract on the program there under ‘Interest growing in rice husk generation’.

Kyaw Thu, MT, 11/09/05. [Issue 333 of the Myanmar Times is not available on-line.]

The Myanmar Inventors' Cooperative Society will set up five rice-husk electricity generators in townships in Rakhine state, according to the society's manager U Than Aung. The generators will produce 0.15 - 0.30 MW. Their installation in Sitwe and Minbya townships marks the second phase in boosting the region’s electricity supplies after five rice-husk generators were installed in the state earlier this year. The total cost for the 10 generators will be between K200 million and K300 million. They are for communities where there no electricity connection is currently available.

May Oo Moe, MT, 05/05/06. [Issue 319 of the Myanmar Times is not available on-line.]

Hein Engineering Co Ltd signed an MoU with Act Venture Sdn Bhd (AVSB) of Malaysia to produce gasifiers using high technologies. Under the agreement, research and development of the gasifiers will be shared with other ASEAN countries, according to U Zarni Aung, MD of Hein Engineering. The company, which engages in the production of feed mills and the installation of steel structures, began production of biomass gasifiers using technology from China in 2006. A news item in the New Light of Myanmar (14/03/07) reports that the company will export gasifiers to Cambodia and Malaysia. They are of two different types: one that operates 100pc on biogas and another that use a dual fuel system.

Good News Weekly Journal, 17/03/05 (as summarized in the MT Media Review column: 28/03/05).

[Issue 260 of the Myanmar Times is not available on-line.]

A Myanmar technician has invented a device that enables diesel and petrol engines to operate on gas produced by rice husks. The president of the Yangon-based Myanmar Inventors’ Co-op, U Soe Tint Aung, had also succeeded in devising a method to remove tar from the gas, which ensured that the engines operated more efficiently. According to U Soe Tint Aung, the gas was about 80pc cheaper than diesel or petrol. The co-operative has sold 208 engines of various capacities that have been fitted with the device. Most of the engines sold were used to power rice milling machines.
NLM, 18/02/05. http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs2/NLM2005-02-18.pdf

Chairman Soe Tint Aung of the Myanma Inventors' Co-op Ltd explains the conversion of a 1,200/1,400 BHP diesel engine to a paddy husk-fired power generator. [A photo showing a paddy-husk generator being assembled can be found in the print edition of NLM.]

JICA, MEPE, NK, IEE Japan, The Study on Introduction of Renewable Energies in Rural Areas in Myanmar: Final Report: Volume 1: Summary, Sept 2003, p 17.

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

Although there are commercially successful examples of biomass gas engines in China and Thailand, the removal of tar from the gas produced from rice husks by pyrolysis has proved difficult. However, the Myanmar Inventors' Co-operative succeeded in overcoming the problem and started commercial production of a gasification-engine-generator system in 1995. A total of 109 husk engine units were installed up to 2000. These are mostly used to power rice-mills. Application to rural electrification began in 2001. The husk combustion chamber and filtering devices of the gas are all locally made. Second-hand diesel engines from trucks are converted to spark plug ignition. [If produced on a large scale in Myanmar], the supply of spare parts for the used engines could become a problem. The cost of the rice husk gasification -engine generator set is low. No special expense is necessary for water treatment, unlike the steam turbine generator. The lines used for distribution would normally cost more than the gasifier-generator set itself. According to tests carried out in Japan by the Agriculture Mechanization Research Institute, 3 - 5 kilos of rice husks are needed to generate 1 kWh, whereas data from China quotes a figure of 2.0 - 2.2 kg/kWh. It is essential to test and confirm the actual relationship between fuel consumption and power generation of the units produced by the Myanmar Inventors’ Co-op. (Compiler’s note: Two photos of the units produced by the Inventors’ Co-op accompany the description.)

Thaung Win Bo, NLM, 09/01/03. http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/Article/Article2003/jan/jan9a.html

Paddy husk-fired engines of Myanma Inventors' Co-operative Society are popular and prominent among the exhibits at the Co-op Products Exhibition and Market Festival 2003 in the Co-op Commercial Centre in Bahan township. They are used for pumping water, livestock breeding, rural power supply, rice and oil mill grinding, saw mills, ice factories, brewing and other operations. Located at No 55/56 on Kyaikwaing Pagoda road in Mayangon township, the co-op is producing engines of high quality after years of research and experiment. In seven years it has sold 155 of 158 engines produced of which 64 were sold in Ayeyawady division. Production costs of the multipurpose engine range from K 5 million to K 20.4 million according to type and size.

NLM, 16/02/02. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/02nlm/n020216.htm

During an inspection of the Myitkyina industrial zone Maj-Gen Ye Myint of the Defence Dept urges industrialists to extend production of bio-mass power generators in the Myitkyina zone.

NLM, 23/01/02. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/02nlm/n020123.htm

Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than of the Defence Dept visits the Ayeya Swan-ar paddy husk-powered engine production plant in Pathein IZ in Pathein. Manager Maj Aung Naing reports on the production of 54 engines. Instructions are given. A news item in NLM (05/05/01) refers to the inauguration of one of the paddy husk-fired plants manufactured by Ayeya Swan-ar in Yonthalin village in Henzada township. The 130-KVA power plant can light up over a thousand homes in the village. Ayeya-shwewa, the parent company of Ayeya Swan-ar, is in the agribusiness in a big way. It is reported to have received grants of over 45,000 acres in various townships of Ayeyawaddy Division to develop for commercial farming purposes (NLM: 22/06/99, 02/09/00).

Myanmar Times, 15/01/01. [Issue 46 of MT is not available on-line.]

By using a paddy husk-fired engine to pump in 600,000 gallons of water on a 1,200-acre farm at Payami in Thabaung township, the Ayeya shwe-wah Co saved as much as K 30,000 daily in fuel costs. Diesel would have cost the company K 30,800, but the 176 bushels of rice husks needed to produce the gas for the operation only cost K 880. The inventor of the paddy gas-husk engine is U Soe Tint Aung, president of thje Myanmar Inventors' Co-op. Though designed as a paddy husk-fuelled engine, his machine can also run on gas produced by saw dust or organic waste. Besides pumping water, it can generate enough power to run a rice mill, a saw mill or an ice factory. One of the engines is supplying the electricity needs of Nyaung-gan village in Htilin township.

NLM, 25/07/98. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS//Myanmar/98nlm/n980725.htm

Four cabinet ministers including the Minister for Electric Power visit the Myanma Tihtwinthumyar Co-op Syndicate on Kyaikwaing Pagoda Road in Mayangon township. The co-op chairman U Soe Tint Aung briefs them on paddy husk gas-powered engines, the syndicate's financial accounts and marketing of the engines. He has been experimenting with 'producer gas' obtained from paddy husks since 1992 and has been successful in operating engines such as 30-HP [300?] Toyota which are used in rice mills, saw mills, edible oil mills, ice factories, generators and pumps. The co-op has has twenty 200-HP engines for sale. It could sell up to 49 machines valued at over K26 million to state/division co-op syndicates and private co-ops.

See above: ‘Biogas production and engine conversion to biogas’ (JITE: 02/08)

‘Village rice husk power plant will serve as research centre’ (MT: 24/09/07)

'Plans for 7-million-dollar power plant edge forward' (MT: 27/08/07)

‘Rice-husk generators slated for villages in Yangon division' (MT: 11/06/07)

See below: 'Interest growing in rice-husk generation’ (MT: 10/07/06)

'Paddy husk power plant tested to cut rice milling costs' (MT: 19/12/05)

'Biogas power plants supply electricity to rural areas’ (MT: 16/08/04)

'Biomass gasifier used for tobacco curing in Myingyan’ (TERI: 08/04)

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SOUTH KOREA'S KEPCO TO STUDY IMPROVING POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

Kyaw Thu, Myanmar Times, 31/07/06.

(Compiler’s note: Issue 327 of the Myanmar Times is not available on-line.)
A meeting was held in Nay Pyi Taw last week between the Ministry of Electric Power (2) and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to discuss plans for the development of an improved electrical power network in Myanmar. The meeting, which was held July 28, was also attended by representatives from Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), which will likely conduct surveys and training programs for the development project.
The meeting followed the signing in April of an agreement between the ministry and KOICA to provide systematic management and operation of a power network to improve the energy sector in Myanmar. “The project, whose combined budget amounts to US$1.4 million, will include the transfer of (South) Korean knowledge and experience in power system operation and protection, general facilities testing, fault analysis, the provision of relay equipment, and a vehicle for field surveys,” said a statement released July 21 by KOICA. The project, which is expected to take three years to complete, will also include a study of the condition of power lines and power substations in Yangon and Mandalay.
Additional references
See above: ‘Chinese engineers planning grid connection with Burma (IRROL: 23/01/10)

See below: ‘Power trading in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS)’ (Appendix 14)

‘Work reported underway on 500-KV grid upgrade’ (Appendix 31)

‘Annex 1: National high-voltage grid system and maps’ Note especially Maps 6 & 7.

Korea Herald, 02/05/11. http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110502000617

KEPCO has also been seeking cooperation with smaller firms in its offshore projects. The firm has bagged power transmission and distribution projects which include its subcontractors in the Philippines, which was worth $310 million, and in Myanmar.

NLM, 28/08/08. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/08nlm/n080828.htm

The final report of the project on Power System Operation and Protection, jointly conducted by MEPE and KEPCO, was delivered by Resident Representative of KOICA Kwang Geol Cho to to D-G Thein Tun of the Energy Planning Dept in Nay Pyi Taw on 21/08/08. The observation programme was conducted at power stations in Thazi, Taungdwingyi, Nay Pyi Taw-Pyinmana, Toungoo, Hlawga and Kamanat from April 2006 to March 2008 by KEPCO using a US$ 1.4 million contribution of the Republic of Korea. The final workshop of the project took place in Nay Pyi Taw on 18 June 2008.

Xinhua, 28/07/08. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200607/31/eng20060731_288424.html

KOICA will fund [another] electric power network development project worth US$ 1.4 in Myanmar, the local weekly Myanmar Times reported 28/07/08. The project will Involve KEPCO and will include the transfer of Korean knowledge and experience in power system operation and protection, general facilities testing, fault analysis and the provision of relay equipment, KOICA was quoted as saying. The project, which is likely to last for three years, also includes a study of the condition of power lines and power substations in Yangon and Mandalay, sources said.

Khin Myat, Myanmar Times, 03/09/07 http://mmtimes.com/no382/n016.htm

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the EPM No 2 met to discuss the KOICA-sponsored project to develop a nationwide electric power network. The third phase of the project is 50pc complete; the first phase in 01-02 involved analysis of Myanmar’s power system network; the second phase in 03-05 involved draft of a basic design for a 500-kilovolt transmission system. During the third phase, titled ‘Power System Operation and Protection Scheme’ from 2006 to 2008, KEPCO has been commissioned to carry out research and consulting activities including data surveys for operation and protection areas, establishment of a reactive power compensation plan and a statistics management system, and to prepare recommendations to prevention of power system blackouts prevention methods.

William Boot, IRROL Business, 06/07/07. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=7792

Claims by Burmese media that a South Korean-led technical development program will expand Burma’s power supply by setting up a ‘national grid’ fall short of reality, according to Bangkok energy researcher Sar Watana. The program, financed by KOICA, will be at the halfway point when Seoul officials present a progress report in the Burmese capital in August. Burma had a total generating capacity of 1,775 MW at the end of 2006 -- barely enough to power Rangoon. According to Sar Watana, the Koreans are “installing 500-kilovolt transmission lines, which are not the fastest or most modern” but which will be an improvement in the areas the program is directed to. Compared with Thailand’s generating capacity and population Burma is about 20,000 megawatts still too short.

Xinhua: 04/04/07. http://english.eastday.com/eastday/englishedition/business/userobject1ai2950269.html

According to the local Flower News, South Korea’s latest network development project in Myanmar aims to share Korean knowledge and experience in power system operation and protection, general facilities testing, fault analysis and the provision of relay equipment. The project is funded by KOICA and undertaken by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). It is starting with the power lines and power substations in Yangon and Mandalay. Technical training will be conducted with officials in Bago division's Thayagon sub-power station. KOICA funded two other projects in 2001-02 and 2004-05 that studied the electric power system network and the transmission system.

Kyaw Soe Linn, Myanmar Times, 02/07/07. http://mmtimes.com/no373/n008.htm

A seminar in August 2007 will review progress on KEPCO’s two-year, US$ 1.4 million project: 'Power System Operation and Protection Scheme'. Kim Jong Hwa, general manager of the project team of KEPCO said it is third co-operative project between KOICA and MEPE aimed at establishing systematic management and operation schemes for Myanmar’s national grid. The first project in 2001-2002 involved an analytical study of Myanmar’s overall power system network, while a 2003-2005 project focused on designing and installing a 500-kilovolt transmission system for the grid. The current project involves research and consulting activities such as conducting data surveys for the operation of the national grid and prevention of system failures, establishing a statistics management system and developing recommendations for ways to prevent power system blackouts. Other aspects include the provision of testing equipment, training sessions for Myanmar electric power technicians in South Korea and visits to Myanmar by KEPCO consulting teams.

Korea International Co-operation Agency website information, 2007: https://www.koica.go.kr/english/board/news/1206244_597.html

KOICA will conduct an 'Advanced Transmission Technology' training program for 15 staff members in charge of transmission engineering from electric companies in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar as part of the Korean government’s grant aid and technical cooperation program for 2007. The course will take place at the training institution of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) in Seoul from March 15 to April 15, 2007. Lectures and practice sessions will include the following topics: insulation co-ordination, conductor design, tower design, transmission line design, transmission line grounding, sag design, insulator design, transmission line electrical environment, hardware design, conductor connection spot inspection, project manage[ment], material transport and tower foundation, tower erection, supervisory tracking system in transmission maintenance, lightening indicator, transmission facility foundation rei-nforcement, 765 kV transmission technology, line maintenance and operation, methods for detecting faulty insulators disaster response systems and procedures. It will also include country report presentations by the participants on developments in the power industry over the last years and information on power utilities. Study trips and field vsits will be made to a tower manufacturer at Hyosung, to the LS cable manufacturing factory, the Gochang testing center, POSCO, Hyundai Heavy Industries.

KEPCO 2005 Annual Report. http://cyber.kepco.co.kr/kepco/updata/eng/2005.pdf

KEPCO [has been conducting] a feasibility study and designing a basic plan to upgrade existing grid voltages in Myanmar to 500kV. Project duration: Jan 2004 to Jan 2006.

Yonhap, 31/10/02. www.burmanet.org/bnn_archives/2002/20021031.txt

Korea Electric Power Co (KEPCO) has completed a one-year project to diagnose and research the electric power network in Myanmar, KEPCO said Thursday (31/10/02). The project marked the company's first overseas venture in the power transmission and transforming sector. Under the project, the power company engaged in an overall analysis of Myanmar’s electric power system and made proposals of short- and long-term measures to improve it. This will pave the way for South Korean firms to make advances into Myanmar's power generation and transmission market, a KEPCO official said.

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INVENTORY OF GENERATING PLANTS, TRANSMISSION GRIDS, PROJECTS

NLM, 30/07/06. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/06nlm/n060730.htm

The meeting (1/2006) of the State Electric Power Development Project Work Committee took place at the PM’s office with an address by General Soe Win, chairman of the committee. It was attended by ministers, deputy ministers, directors-general and officials of the SPDC office and the PM’s office, departmental heads and officials of the Ministries of Electric Power Nos 1 and 2.
The Prime Minister said the development of electric power goes together with that of the socio-economy of the State. That is why the leading committee and the work committee for the State Electric Power Development Project were formed. The work committee is responsible for presenting the conditions of the projects being implemented and to be implemented to the leading committee. Presently, the State is taking steps to change the nation’s agro-based economy to a system in which different kinds of industry can be set up. To bring this about, emphasis has been placed on boosting the power supply in order to develop both the agricultural sector and the industrial sector. This is why the Ministry of Electric Power itself was reconstituted into the two ministries, one to focus on generating electric power and the other to getting it distributed.
The duties of the work committee include the co-ordination necessary to speed the implementation of on-going projects. It will also take charge of matters related to the systematic generation and distribution of electric power. Another priority is the constant implementation of small-scale regional hydel power station projects.
The Head of State has assigned to the Ministry of Industry No 2 responsiblility for the production of machines for small-scale hydropower plants in the respective regions. Surveys will have to be conducted with the help of local people in the different regions to find out which water resources are best suited for hydropower plants. Simultaneously, measures are to be taken for changing dams constructed by the Ag & Irrig Ministry into multi-purpose facilities to supply electric power to the regions. The process calls for a master plan through which the major projects that are part of the national grid and the projects designed to supply electric power to the regions concerned can be implemented in harmony.
The drive for extended generation of electric power is to cover construction of new power plants, the building of more sub-power stations and power lines, and the upgrading of present electric power facilities. Furthermore, steps are to be taken to improve the distribution of electric power, and eliminate the dishonest ways in which power is sometimes consumed. Nor have the problems of unnecessary wastage of power through machinery breakdowns been remedied completely. Preventive measures are to be taken remedy power losses through both causes. Besides, necessary arrangements are to be made for correctly levying taxes on power consumption.
In his report, EPM-1 Zaw Min compared the differences in electric power capacity and production in 1988 with the current situation. In 1988, there were 24 power plants that could generate 568.453 MW, 14 hydel power plants (228.453 MW), seven gas turbines (280 MW) and three steam power plants (60 MW). Since 1988, the ministry had built 39 new power plants: 30 hydropower plants (517.227 MW), four steam power plants (281 MW), one [coal-fired] steam (120 MW) and four recycle power plants (152.9 MW).
A total of 16 hydel power projects are currently underway: Yeywa in Kyaukse township (790 MW); Kunchaung in Pyu township (60 MW); Pyuchaung in Pyu township (40 MW); Khabaung In Ottwin township (30 MW); Yenwe in Kyaukdaga township (25 MW); Shwegyin in Shwegyin township (75 MW); Shweli in Namhkam township (600 MW); Kengtawng in Mongnai township (54 MW); Pathi in Thandaung township (2.2 MW); and Thahtay in Thandwe township (102 MW).
Furthermore, plans are under way to implement 15 hydel power projects such as Kawgata in Kyaukkyi township (160 MW); Biluchaung No 3 in Loikaw township (48 MW); Bilin in Bilin township (140 MW in it first phase and 140 MW in its second phase); Hatkyi in Hlaingbwe township (600 MW); Shwesayay in Budalin township (660 MW); Thandwe in Thandwe township (39 MW); Kyeintali in Gwa township (30 MW); Kengtawng in Mongnai township (54 MW); Manipura in Falam township (380 MW); 600-megawatt Taninthayi in Taninthayi township (600 MW); Shweli No 1 in Namhkam township (150 MW) Shweli No 2 in Momeik trownship (500 MW); Maykha in Myitkyina township (800 MW), Dayaingchaung in Hlaingbwe township (25 MW); and Thakyet in Taninthayi township (20 MW). The capacity of the machines in the power plants [in the planning stage] will amount to 4,346 megawatts in total.
Ten hydel power plants are already connected to the national grid: Biluchaung Nos 1 & 2 in Loikaw township, Kinda in Myittha township, Paunglaung in Pyinmana township, Hsedawgyi in Madaya township, Zawgyi Nos 1 & 2 in Yaksawk township, Zaungtu in Bago township Thaphanseik in Kunhla township and Monechaung in Sedoktara township. There is also the Tikyit coal-fired power plant in Pinlaung township. The capacity of the machines in the [grid-linked] power plants already in operation amounts to 832 megawatts.
The hydel power projects with top priority are Yenwe, Kabaung, Kengtawng, Shweli, Kunchaung, Pyuchaung, Shwegyin and Yeywa hydel power projects. Yenwe, Khabaung and Pyuchaung hydel power projects are being implemented through the joint efforts of the Ministry of Electric Power No 1 and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.
EPM-2 Khin Maung Myint reported that that the hydel power stations already supplying electricity to the national grid are Baluchaung No 1, Baluchaung No 2, Zawgi No 1, Zawgi No 2, Kinda, Hsedawgyi, Zaungtu, Thaphanseik, Paunglaung and Monchaung. These stations are currently generating 712 MW in total. The gas-fired power stations are Ywama, Kyunchaung, Mann, Thaton, Shwedaung, Myanaung, Thakayta, Ahlon and Hlawga, and these are currently generating 549.9 MW. Steam-powered stations are Ahlon, Hlawga, Ywama, Thakayta, Tikyit and Mawlamyine, and these power stations are currently generating 285 MW. The 25 grid-linked power stations have a capacity of 1546.9 megawatts in total. But the actual producing capacity in 2005 ranged from 601 to 818 MW.
The EPM-2 has twelve 230-KV power stations, sixteen 132-KV power stations and forty-seven 66-KV power stations for a toal of 75. The national grid lines under the ministry include thirteen 230-KV sections with a total length of 834.16 miles; nineteen 132-KV sections with a total length of 1056.73 miles, and fifty-two 66-KV sections with a total length of 1224.92 miles. Sections to be built to improve the power supply are the 177-mile-long, 230-KV grid linking Taungoo-Kyauktaga-Bago-Thanlyin, the 105-mile-long, 230-KV line linking Meiktila and Taungdwingyi, the 60-mile-long, 230-KV line linking Bago and Myaungtaga [in Hmawbi township], and the 12-mile-long 230-KV line linking Shwesayan [in Singaing township] and Aungpinle [in Patheingyi township]. Sections to be built connecting new hydel power stations to the grid include the 180-mile-long, 230-KV line linking Manipura and Monywa, the 100-mile-long, 230-KV line linking Kyiohn-Kyiwa and Minbu, the 69-mile-long, 230-KV line linking Thahtay and Ushitbin and the 24-mile-long, 230-KV grid linking Ushitbin and Shwedaung.
Minister Khin Maung Myint made a comparison between 1988-89 and 2005-06 with regard to power generation, consumption of power and loss of power. In 1988-89, there were 2,226.45 million units of power generated, 1475.55 million units of power consumed and 750.90 million units of power lost, accounting for 34pc power loss [in the transmission-distribution process] In 2005-2006, there were 6064.16 million units of power generated, 4431.06 million units of power used and 1633.10 million units of power lost, accounting for 27pc power loss [in the transmission-distribution process].
A&I Minister Htay Oo reported on the hydro-electric power projects [of his ministry], co-operation with the Ministry of Electric Power and future programmes for full supply of electric power. Deputy EPM No 1 Myo Myint and Deputy A&I Minister Ohn Myint reported on the generation of electric power from dams and reservoirs. Minister for Industry No 2 Saw Lwin reported on the production of meter boxes and ACSR wire by factories under his ministry and future programmes. Minister for Energy Lun Thi reported on the drilling of natural gas wells that allow for greater distribution of power, the installation of pipelines, distribution of gas and future programmes. Minister for National Planning and Economic Development U Soe Tha reported on the role of electric power sector in economic development.