Electricians work on an electric pole in Mondulkiri province last year. EDC
The Mondulkiri Provincial Council has requested that relevant authorities work together to improve the electricity supply to remote rural areas in order to meet the demands of population growth and development. These areas are rich in natural resources and important tourist destinations, it said.
During a meeting held on February 2 to discuss the progress of the province, five district governors reported that some villages and communes were not yet connected to the national grid. They said the road infrastructure was not adequate enough to transport the equipment required to connect power to the most remote areas.
Chairman of the council Men Ngoy requested that authorities cooperate to solve this problem.
He urged the authorities and specialised units to begin planning construction and restoration projects for those roads. This would facilitate the movement of people and accelerate electricity supply, in accordance with the strategic goals of the government, which guaranteed to supply electricity to all villages across the country by 2020 and for all households to have access to electricity by 2030.
Mondulkiri Provincial Administration deputy director Neang Vannak said that the province covered a large area and had many people living in remote areas, which made it difficult for provincial electricity authorities to access every location.
He said that although some villages could not yet access the national grid, some people used solar energy, while some wealthier families were using generators.
“We have made efforts to connect the electrical network to all villages, and now we supply about 90 percent,” he said.
He said that the electricity supply in Sen Monorom town came from a Japanese-assisted small hydropower plant, along with a 360-kilowatt generator, and sometimes bought electricity from Vietnam for additional use.
“The electrical authorities are now studying the possibility of supplying electricity from the Lower Sesan 2 hydropower plant. If it can provide enough energy, perhaps we will longer need to purchase from Vietnam,” he said.
Vannak said that as of the beginning of this year, the total population in Mondulkiri was 92,000 people, with one town, four districts, 23 communes and 92 villages.
