Mekong nations will meet

During meetings sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the delegates are expected to discuss performance standards and transmission regulations for cross-border power trade, the first of four stages leading to an integrated power sector.

"National forecasts show demand for electricity in the GMS region is expected to grow 9-15 per cent per year for the next decade," said Yongping Zhai, the ADB's energy specialist and co-chair of the meetings in Vientiane.

"Regional cooperation in power trading offers efficient use of regional energy resources to meet this rising demand," he said.

The first phase is expected to be completed in 2010, and seeks to promote country-to-country power transactions where excess capacity of existing cross-border transmission lines is used.

This phase will initially involve three interconnections, including one between Laos and Thailand, another between Laos and Vietnam and one connecting Laos and Cambodia. Delegates from Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam will also launch a joint power-sector database at the meetings.