Q&A: A ‘holistic’ approach to the long-awaited Asean Power Grid

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Asean has been dreaming of a regional power grid since the 1990s, with a vision to develop the energy resources of each of its 10 member states and to build interconnectivity among them. The Asean Power Grid (APG) was first mentioned as a concept in the bloc’s strategic vision statement in 1997. An APG Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in 2007 and enforced in 2009, further solidifying Asean’s goal of energy security and cross-border power connections.

As Asean gears up to sign an enhanced Asian Power Grid MoU in October, which is expected to outline a roadmap for implementation, Dialogue Earth spoke to Matthew David Wittenstein, chief of the Energy Connectivity Section at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), about how a different approach to the APG can influence its future. He discussed the commission’s advocacy for a “holistic” approach to the APG’s goals, which involves looking beyond technical approaches in order to build regional cooperation that is lasting and fair.

ASEAN Delegation at the EU-ASEAN Youth Diplomat Program 2023. Source: Wikipedia