Abstract

It is well known that the interconnection of isolated electric power systems within a region can have many advantages, including lower costs for consumers, less need for investment in peak capacity, few power disruptions, etc. Laying the political, legal and regulatory groundwork for sharing energy resources can also open up the way for many other forms of cooperation and poverty alleviation. It is also generally agreed that linking up disparate grids is generally a rather straight forward exercise from an engineering point of view. However, getting all of the governments in accord and ready to proceed to make a regional grid is a complex process. In this seminar, I will compare and contrast the plans made, and the progress towards integration of the electricity networks in two regions: the Middle East/North Africa and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Both regions have extremes in existing and potential power generation capacity, wealth, and institutional environments. Both regions also have countries which are struggling with serious internal political problems. Nonetheless, masterplans and strategies for network integration in both regions have been drawn up over the past decade by various international organisations hoping to encourage the 22 and 10 governments to communicate with each other, and also apprise them of the many practical, financial, social and political benefits of integrating their networks. Some have also been trying to persuade the governments that there is a real opportunity for these governments to become world renowned for choosing exceptionally “green” strategies. I will discuss the key obstacles to network integration in the two regions, as well as offer some optimistic perspectives gleaned from observing the trials and tribulations of other regions in the world where network integration was ultimately successfully implemented.