Illustrative photo (Photo: laotiantimes.com) Vientiane (VNA) – The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has raised concerned that electricity supply from Laos to Thailand is expected to be insufficient this year due to drought conditions lowering water levels in the Mekong River, the Laotian Times reported on August 16.
According to the newspaper, the governor of the EGAT, Boonyanit Wongrukmit, said that if the drought in Laos becomes severe, hydropower plants in Laos will generate less electricity, reducing its export capacity.
After an agreement signed in 2022, Thailand increased its electricity purchase from Laos from 9,000 MW to 10,500 MW, which allowed Bangkok to raise its energy supply from renewable sources.
Chanthaboun Soukaloun, Managing Director of Electricite Du Laos, said that drought-like conditions have also affected Laos’ internal energy consumption.
Speaking at a government meeting earlier this month, he said that domestic energy generation in Laos has been lower than planned due to drought during the dry season and the increased demand for electricity usage.
Earlier this month, Laos experienced a deluge of rainfall which caused widespread flooding and landslides in eight provinces in Laos with four major hydropower plants in Laos having to open their reservoir gates to release water.
The newspaper quoted Courtney Weatherby, Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia Programme at the Stimson Center, as saying that so far the organisation has observed that much of the Mekong has been well under normal wetness levels this year.
“The situation improved the last two weeks due to a surge of intense rainfall, but river levels are likely to trend downward again unless high levels of rainfall continue. Drought in the wet season is common during El Nino years, and in general, it’s likely to be the case this year too,” she said.
She added that it is difficult to accurately predict the drought’s severity in the future./
