GE to Help Electrify Cambodia

GE to Help Electrify Cambodia

A partnership with General Electric (GE), the Boston-based American
multinational conglomerate, will be the best way forward for Cambodia to
meet its 2035 goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by three million
tons annually and electrifying 100 percent of rural areas, representatives
from the company and the US ambassador told a workshop at the Ministry of
Mines and Energy yesterday.

President of GE's Asean division Wouter Van Wersch stated that the company
was ideally positioned to deliver what the government needs, due to its
diverse energy portfolio.

"We not only see the opportunity for GE to contribute to Cambodia's
infrastructure in power generation, power transmission, but also in
healthcare and the aviation sector," Mr. Van Wersch said. "We will support
Cambodia with our best and latest technology, by improving the productivity
and efficiency of equipment that will ultimately help to reduce the cost of
electricity and also to reduce the emission impact on the environment."

"We will work with the Ministry of Mines and Energy to increase power
capacity in the country, and we want to invest more to [bring] the right
technology and increase the [technical] capacity of the Cambodian people. We
will bring the best technology available," he added.

US Ambassador William Heidt also voiced his support of GE's technical
expertise.

"For the last 15 years, Cambodia has made huge progress expanding the power
grid to rural areas and delivering more reliable and cheaper power. GE will
present new technology and solutions on power to Cambodia. The workshop
today is a concrete example of how the US business community can contribute
to sustainable economic development here in Cambodia," he said.

The Minister for Mines and Energy Suy Sem stressed at the workshop that
Cambodia was facing increasing energy demands, both in the public and
private sectors. He also highlighted the government's efforts in connecting
rural Cambodia to the national grid.

"The government is working on big power transmission lines to connect with
all areas across the country, and to develop reliable sources of electricity
at affordable prices for the Cambodian people," said Mr. Sem.

There are 14,073 villages nationwide and by 2020, the government expects to
install electricity lines in all of them. The government also has a target
of providing electricity to 70 percent of all households nationwide by 2030.

About 85 percent of Cambodian people live in rural areas and the country has
no indigenous sources of fossil fuel. Over 84 percent of primary energy is
created by fuel wood, according to reports. Rechargeable car batteries are
normally used in rural areas for basic lighting and powering radios and
small televisions.

Victor Jona, director-general of energy at the ministry noted that so far 15
provinces had been connected to the power grid, with three more major lines
coming online in the next two years. He spoke of his desire that GE will be
able to further assist in the ministry's efforts.

In addition to electricity imports from Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, Mr. Jona
said that Cambodia has six hydroelectric plants in operation, and one
coal-powered plant. He stressed that energy prices for consumers had greatly
fallen in recent years, with rural consumers paying about 600 riel ($0.15)
per kilowatt/hour, down from $0.50 a few years ago.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/32285/ge-to-help-electrify-cambodia/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com