As there were many power plants in Lao PDR generating electricity for export in 2019, the export figure reached 25,048 gigawatt-hours (GWh) or equivalent to 2.15 Mtoe. This amounted to more than half of all electricity consumed in the country and 77% of total hydropower generation.
Source: The Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Department of Energy Policy and Planning (2019), Lao Energy Balance Table Collection Historical. 14 December. In 2019, Lao PDR’s total primary energy supply (TPES) was 5.9 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), and the energy mix consisted of hydropower, oil, coal, solar and biomass.
Lao PDR’s energy primarily comes from coal, oil, hydropower, and ‘others’ (including biomass, solar, and electricity for export). The combined shares of coal and oil are expected to fall to about 20% of the primary energy supply by 2050 under the carbon-neutral scenario.
Source: The Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Department of Energy Policy and Planning (2019), Lao Energy Balance Table Collection Historical. 14 December. The industry and commercial sectors consume biomass, but at a lower rate than the residential sector, which dominates the country’s consumption.
The country imported 0.92 Mtoe of oil products to supply the demand for the transport sector and others. In the same year, Lao PDR consumed 4.5 Mtoe of coal, mainly in thermal power plants such as the Hongsa Thermal Power Plant, the country’s first and largest coal power plant, which began operating in 2015.
Specifically, Lao PDR intends to augment power exports to the aforementioned neighboring countries mentioned above. Increase power supply eficiency by 75 % for hydropower, 14 % for thermal power plants, and 11 % for renewable energy; and meet the domestic demand and export target. Develop transmission lines for domestic power supply and for export.
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