Myanmar is mired in a civil war that has killed thousands, triggered when the military ousted the elected civilian government of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi four years ago Saturday (Feb 1).
The Southeast Asian nation has oil, gas and coal reserves as well as strong hydroelectric and solar potential, but is crippled by political instability, investor flight, poor policy and a lack of infrastructure.
A Ministry of Electric Power report from January said that of the 7,000 megawatts (MW) of daily installed capacity, in normal times the power system could distribute around 4,000 MW.
Average daily electricity production has plummeted to 2,200 MW, it said, with only half of that being distributed.
The junta has blamed the worsening outages on rising gas prices and attacks on infrastructure by anti-coup fighters.
Around a-third of firms surveyed by the World Bank in April last year reported power outages as their primary challenge, up from 12 per cent in September 2023.
Only 48 percent of the population had access to electricity in late 2024, according to the UN – the lowest rate in Asia.
And the crisis is having a major impact on both the economy and civilians’ well-being.
“We can’t cook with charcoal or wood in Yangon’s small rooms. So we only rely on gas for cooking but … we also face gas shortages,” Yin Kay Thwe said.
“We are struggling with cooking everyday.”
Source: CNA
