Switching on ASEAN: Accelerating cross-border energy connectivity

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Experts argue that ASEAN’s energy ambitions will falter without a step-change in grid investment and government commitment to infrastructure. “When you’re trying to increase and upgrade your power, like it or not, you have to upgrade your grid. The key is not only leaving it up to the private sector, the government has to be responsible for the infrastructure. ASEAN is still three levels below [Europe’s standard],” says Nuki Agya Utama, director for energy policy and head of Asia Zero Emission Center, ERIA. Southeast Asia must more than double annual grid investment to $22bn by 2035 and expand its transmission and distribution network by around 1.7m km by 2030 to meet rising demand.

ASEAN’s ambition to connect its national grids into a regional power grid has never been more urgent. While there have been signs of progress, climate imperatives and industrial competition demand more than the incremental pilot schemes currently underway. The experience of countries elsewhere shows that what makes or breaks regional grids is not just cables, but rules, trust and finance.