Greater Mekong Subregion Power Trade and Interconnection: 2 Decades of Cooperation

Energy cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) began as part of the GMS Economic Cooperation Program (GMS Program) launched in 1992. Energy was identified at the inception of the GMS Program as one of nine areas of subregional cooperation in view of the benefits of sharing the subregion’s diverse energy resources and of optimizing power supply to meet varying demand profiles across the region. The economic and environmental benefit of regional integration in the GMS energy sector is estimated at savings amounting to about 19% of total energy costs or about $200.0 billion. The savings resulting from expanding the interconnection of GMS power systems alone are estimated at $14.3 billion, mainly due to the substitution of fossil fuel generation with hydropower. Integration of power systems is also expected to result in slower growth of carbon emissions as compared to business as usual.

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