YANGON. May 23 : Myanmar's Union Minister for Electric Power and for Energy U Thaung Han received Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Mr Chen Hai in Nay Pyi Taw recently.

During the call, they discussed the cross-border power lines to develop the electricity and energy sectors of Myanmar, hydropower projects, gas-fired and thermal power plant projects and further cooperation in oil and natural gas extraction.

Myanmar was known to be struggling to provide a 24 hour supply of electricity in the summer, even before the coup, as the electricity generation infrastructure cannot keep up with the burgeoning demand for power year by year.

In the monsoon season, hydropower stations manage to produce more electricity, but struggle with frequent mechanical breakdowns caused by the rain.

Besides China, Bloomberg’s Myanmar bureau reported that the military government is now in talks with Russia, in an attempt to resolve the electricity supply problem.

The article, posted on April 29th, reported that the de facto Myanmar military spokesperson, Major General Zaw Min Tun, confirms that Myanmar is now in negotiations with Russia, amongst others, regarding the import of fuel at reasonable prices.

Myanmar also engaged in talks during April with Tatarstan, a semi-autonomous Russian republic, which included discussions on energy, particularly projects for the building of more refineries and similar projects that have been suspended, according to the same article.

Besides China, Russia is one of the few countries that has maintained friendly relations and even shown support for the military government that ousted Myanmar’s civilian government in February 2021.

  - ANN