- Thursday, February 27, 2025
The effort follows that of India to begin trading power with countries of the Middle East, such as the UAE.
By: Shubham Ghosh
IN an effort to boost regional diplomatic engagement, India is considering trading electricity with the countries of Southeast Asia through Myanmar, with which it has a border, and Thailand, Reuters reported citing five informed sources.
According to an industry official, linkages of the grids could take at least four years to complete. The effort follows that of India to begin trading power with countries of the Middle East, such as the United Arab Emirates, the report added.
The sources, which also belong to the ministry of power, refused to identify themselves as the plan has not been made public yet. Reuters tried to connect the ministry for remarks but did not get any immediate response.
The development is key as India’s Narendra Modi government has been eyeing closer political and economic ties with its neighbours to tackle China’s growing influence in the region.
Energy officials from India are holding separate and group talks with some nations on advancing regional power grid links at the just held G20 ministerial meetings in the western state of Goa, the officials from the power ministry told the publication.
One of the officials told Reuters that support from G20 members is considered key to winning support of bankers and developers in making decisions on investments.
New Delhi has taken help of France’s EDF to make a regulatory framework to address key challenges including pricing, the industry official told the publication. The French electric utility company is likely to conclude the report by the end of the current year, the official said.
Members of the Southeast Asian Nation have been trying to make a regional grid for decades to promote a multilateral power grid but the progress has remained limited within bilateral deals between them.
India eyes boosting its renewable and big hydropower capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 from 177 GW presently. This could reduce dependence on fossil fuel by making solar power available for longer durations in the day, one of the sources said.
One of the ministry officials also told Reuters that transmission charges on power supplied through an interconnected regional network is a big challenge.
The interconnections would go both under water and over land, with integration of renewable energy boosted by pooling resources from various corners of the region, one of the sources was cited as saying.
India already exports electricity to South Asian neighbours such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan and a small amount to Myanmar.
