Electricity production
Hydropower dams
Laos Suspends Power Supply to Cryptocurrency Mining Businesses
Electricite du Laos (EDL) has announced that it will no longer supply electricity to cryptocurrency mining operations in Laos, citing long-term outstanding debts.The notice, issued by EDL on Wednesday, states that Laos experienced drought conditions during the first six months of 2023, with extreme heat causing ...
Manyphone Vongphachanh
Pak Lay and Luang Prabang dam Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs): Who benefits?
As media attention focused on the dissolution of the parliament to prepare for the upcoming national election, news that a Power Purchase Agreement with Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) was signed for the Pak Lay dam slipped by without making much of a ripple. ...
Pianporn Deetes
The Last Days of Beautiful Luang Prabang: UNESCO experts insist that a huge dam would destroy the “authenticity and integrity” of the World Heritage Site in Laos.
Construction has just started on a huge dam just 25 kilometers upstream from the heritage town, and only four kilometers from the revered Buddhist shrines hidden inside the Pak Ou caves.Satellite information from the Stimson Center’s Mekong Dam Monitor proved that these warnings have been ignored, and ...
Tom Fawthrop
Lao villagers worry that compensation for Pak Beng Dam will be too low
Local authorities in Laos last week met with villagers who will be affected by the Pak Beng Dam project to discuss compensation, but the villagers worry that the government’s offer will be too low, sources in the country. The dam, located in northwestern Laos’ Bokeo ...
RFA Lao
Laos Likely to Benefit from Thailand’s Energy Shortage
Kurit Sombatsiri, the Permanent Secretary of the Energy Ministry, informed that the rising prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the weak baht could adversely affect energy costs next year. The Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) met with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday to discuss ...
Amrita Paul
Attapeu Villagers to be Compensated For Losing Land to Dam Construction
The villagers will receive at least LAK 3.8 billion, according to a report stated by the Deputy Governor of Attapeu province, Thanouxay Bansalith during a visit to the under-construction dam. It is estimated that during the first phase of construction, 22 households will lose 14 hectares ...
Phontham Visapra
Lao dam lawsuit failure shows need to revise cross-border deals
On 17 August, the Thai Supreme Administrative Court ruled to dismiss a lawsuit, filed by 37 Thai villagers against five Thai state agencies for their role in approving the Xayaburi hydropower dam’s Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).Filed 10 years ago, the Xayaburi lawsuit was the first community-filed ...
Phairin Sohsai
Nam Ngum 1 Dam Begins Operating New Extension
The existing dam has been extended to the side, and a new power plant extension with an installed capacity of 40 megawatts was constructed. The electrical and mechanical equipment now has a total installed capacity of 275 megawatts.The ceremony beginning the operation of the new ...
Manyphone Vongphachanh
Thai Court Shoots Down 10-year-old Case Against Laos’s Xayaburi Dam
The Supreme Administrative Court of Thailand dismissed a decade-long case by activists, which claimed that the power purchase by Thailand’s Electricity Generating Authority (EGAT) from Laos’s Xayaburi Dam was causing significant harm to the environment and the livelihoods of people residing along the Mekong River. ...
Amrita Paul
Overall Mekong River flow patterns do not change: report finding
Two hydropower projects along Southeast Asia’s most important river have had measurable, but moderate, impact on water flow, sediment and fisheries, according to preliminary findings of a report by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) released last week.With roughly one year of monitoring data, the MRC ...