Expanding Access to Affordable Electricity in Cambodia

Expanding Access to Affordable Electricity in Cambodia

When darkness fell in Tram Kok district, Keo Sarum, head of Ta Phem Health
Center, would start to worry.

Located 80 kilometers from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, 11,500
people from 16 surrounding villages depended on the public health facility.
The 44-year-old and his staff of seven knew night would bring a string of
emergencies from serious road accidents to sudden life-threatening
illnesses. Without electricity, the center was at the mercy of unreliable
solar-powered lamps.

Around 10 p.m. one night in 2012, Keo was delivering a baby for a mother in
a fragile condition.

"In the middle of the delivery, the solar lamps suddenly went out. The
patient was shouting for help in the darkness and there was chaos in the
waiting room," he recalls.

Keo successfully delivered the baby using battery-powered lights, but says:
"Without electricity, our patients' lives were constantly at risk."

A partnership for power

Early the following year, affordable and reliable electricity lit up the
health center. Electricity brought improved health services and growing
confidence in the center, which received about 18,600 patients in 2015, 20
times more than in 2012.

In partnership with the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance, the
Electricity Authority of Cambodia, the Nordic Development Bank, and the
World Bank, ADB approved the Greater Mekong Subregion Transmission Project
in 2003 to construct 109 kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines and
bring cheaper electricity from the Viet Nam border to Phnom Penh.

With readily available electricity flowing down the new lines, private power
distributors were encouraged to connect homes and small businesses in towns
and rural areas to affordable power.

The project now provides power to 90,000 households in Phnom Penh and rural
areas along the transmission route.

Making electricity available and affordable

Before the project, the electricity supply system in Cambodia was fragmented
and lacked a transmission grid. Small-scale providers, mostly using
diesel-fuelled generators, supplied electricity.

Costs in rural areas often exceeded $1 per kilowatt hour, putting
electricity far beyond the reach of poor villagers. The high cost and
unreliability of electricity posed a major stumbling block to economic
growth, investment, and social development.

ADB has played a leading role in Greater Mekong Subregion power sector
cooperation by financing a regional master plan for power interconnection,
which included the transmission link between Cambodia and Viet Nam.

Helping communities thrive

The project made a big difference to low-income families in Srae Khvav, Tram
Kok district.

Mom Sophol, a 39-year-old mother of three, used to buy electricity from
local suppliers for $20.00 per month. Now she pays $5.50 a month.

Her daughter, Ith, is a fifth-grade student and remembers that before the
project electricity was so expensive she could only study one hour a night.
Now, the lights in her home stay on as long as she needs.

"I have enough time to do my homework," she says with pride. "I get good
grades now."

Oum Sovannarith long dreamed of starting his own business. When electricity
arrived in his neighborhood of Udom Sarya Commune, the 27-year-old set up a
chicken farm near his home.

His 1,300 chickens need to be fed after dark so lights need to be on all
night. "Without this electricity, my business would not be possible. I spend
about $40 per month on electricity. I would be spending up to $300 per month
for diesel-based power," he says.

Din Sophea is a typical example of how the project boosted many existing
small businesses. When he opened his small welding shop in Takeo province in
2010, his only option for electricity was a diesel-powered generator that
ate up almost 40% of his income.

After the project brought electricity to his town, his power bill dropped
from $300 a month to $85, freeing up money to expand his business. He
doubled the size of his shop in 2015 and now employs four welders.

"With more income I can buy better food for my children and I hope to send
them to good schools in the next few years," he says.

Successful cross-border cooperation

The project successfully supported the government's energy development goals
to provide an affordable energy supply throughout Cambodia and demonstrated
the economic benefits of interregional links.

Viet Nam earned export income from the sale of surplus electricity and
Cambodia made exceptional economic returns on its investment.

Examining a patient in his well-lit office in Ta Phem Health Center, Keo
says with a smile, "These days I am confident operating at night."

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Link to Original Article:
https://www.adb.org/results/expanding-access-affordable-electricity-cambodia

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com