Myanmar’s Electricity Sector Crippled Since Military Coup
The military coup has created a crisis in Myanmar’s electricity sector, which has lost billions of dollars in income and been beset by prolonged power outages across the country due to mismanagement by the junta and the public’s refusal to support the regime, Independent Economists for Myanmar (IEM), a group of anonymous experts, warned.
The IEM said the regime’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) was collecting 100 billion kyats (about US$61 million) less per month due to a boycott campaign launched by pro-democracy activists. The bill collection rates in the country’s two major commercial cities, Yangon and Mandalay, were as low as 2 percent and 3 percent respectively as of March, according to the IEM.
THE IRRAWADDY
