Laos, Malaysia and Thailand Agree to Expand a Trilateral Power Deal
Laos, Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to expand a trilateral power deal, under which Lao electricity will be sold to the Malaysians via the Thai grid, Thailand’s minister of energy said Thursday.
“Thailand, Laos and Malaysia achieved a new purchase deal, raising the capacity from 100 to 300 megawatts,” Sontirat Sontijirawong, Thailand’s minister of energy, told a news conference during during a four-day meeting of energy ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that wrapped up in Bangkok on Thursday.
“It is a model project of ASEAN grid connectivity. We agreed to officially sign the contract soon,” he said.
The three countries have yet to formally sign off on the deal, but he said they had agreed to the expansion.
The first phase of the agreement known as the Lao PDR, Thailand, Malaysia – Power Integration Project (LTM-PIP), was implemented in early 2018 and is set to transition to a second phase, starting in January 2020, the minister said. Under the new agreement, Laos will increase the amount of electricity its sells to Malaysia via Thailand, from 100 MW to 300 MW.
