Cambodia: Electricity Access Is Growing, But Divide Persists

Cambodia: Electricity Access Is Growing, But Divide Persists

Cambodia has been quickly turning on the lights for more households, but
access to electricity remains significantly lower in rural areas than in
cities, according to a new report from the World Bank.

From 2012 to 2014, Cambodia expanded its rate of electrification by more
than 7 percentage points annually "through sustained grid electrification
complemented by solar home systems in rural areas," the report says, which
was released this week and tracks countries' adoption of sustainable energy.

Year-over-year, Cambodia increased its electricity access at a greater rate
than Laos, Nepal, Bhutan, Honduras and 14 African nations in the global
south from 2012 to 2014, the report says. Afghanistan increased electricity
access by more than 10 percent annually over the same period.

But while 97 percent of Cambodia's urban population had access to
electricity in 2014, less than half-49 percent-of the rural population was
plugged in, the report says.

By last year, about 58 percent of households were connected to the electric
grid, up from less than half in 2015, according to the Electric Authority of
Cambodia's website.

Several national programs have contributed to the spread of electrification
in rural areas.

The report identified the Power to the Poor Program, which offered
interest-free loans to cover connection fees and wiring costs; the Solar
Home System Program, which provided subsidized solar energy generation in
rural areas; and the Program for Providing Assistance to Develop Electricity
Infrastructure in Rural Areas, which helped private suppliers secure
investment funds.

Still, challenges to expanding access to the grid persist, said Chou Ngeth,
founding chairman of the Solar Energy Association Cambodia.

"Low population density in remote areas [means it] makes no economic sense
to expand access to grid network," he said in an email. "The government
should collaboratively work with private sector investors and development
partners to figure out how private sector investment in renewable energy
could be leveraged.to enhance capacity of [the] electricity supply."

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Link to Original Article:
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/electricity-access-is-growing-but-divide-
persists-127606/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com