Electricity production

Confused citizens in coastal communities like Kampot and Sihanoukville are complaining about surging electricity bills, which they say are not linked to higher usage or even rises in per unit cost. The rising costs are largely unexplained and often disproportionately high in relation to actual power ...

Thailand, China and Myanmar are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of the 7,000-megawatt Mong Ton hydropower-plant project on the upper Salween River this year, after Myanmar’s government cancelled its Tasang hydropower project. Speaking yesterday on behalf of the three countries, ...

China’s plan to cut carbon emissions commits Beijing to a surge in construction of ecologically destructive hydropower dams that heralds the end of free-flowing rivers in the country, experts say. Beijing last week formally submitted its 2030 goals for generating energy from non-fossil fuels, garnering international praise as nations ...

Conservationists, politicians and at least one prime minister are warning the quest for hydro power for booming urban centres in China and south-east Asia is threatening the food supply of more than 40 million people, including millions in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s food bowl. Kraisak Choonhavan, ...

The environmental group International Rivers has called on Laos to suspend construction of a major dam on the Mekong River and to continue talks with its concerned neighbours downstream. The Don Sahong Dam, which would spread across the river just above the Cambodian border, is a ...

An Australian company contracted to assess the potential environmental and social impact of the planned Mongton dam has responded to recent criticism of the consultation process, saying that interference with its data collection efforts could lead to “suboptimal outcomes for the affected communities.” The Snowy Mountains ...

Laos has announced that it will submit the proposed Don Sahong dam on the Mekong River for “prior consultation” within a regional mechanism but will not suspend development of the controversial project that has been criticized by its neighbors and environmentalists. Previously, Laos has refused to comply with a ...

China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), builder of the controversial Myitsone Dam in Myanmar’s Kachin State, has cut off food assistance to at least two families—among hundreds displaced by the project—after they backed protests against the dam. The two families were from Aungmyinthar village, one of two ...