A new $7 million power station unveiled Thursday will help Phnom Penh delay a predicted power shortage, but it will not bring electricity rates down for commercial customers, officials said.
The new 15-megawatt power station built by Jupiter Power International Inc of Canada will help the city meet the demand for electricity for the next two years, officials said Thursday during an opening ceremony for the plant.
The city is projected to need another 35 megawatts within two years, and the new station will reduce that shortfall by almost half. But a full supply of electricity (and lower rates for industry) will not be feasible until more power plants come on line, said Suy Sem, Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy.
Businesses have complained that Electricite du Cambodge, the country’s utility agency, charges them more to keep bills artificially low for private customers. In April, Prime Minister Hun Sen told EdC to charge market prices for all customers.
A private customer who uses between zero to 50 kilowatts per month is charged 350 riel per kilowatt hour, or nine cents, which is about two cents below the actual cost. Commercial customers pay more than twice the rate for private customers.
A rate decrease may come with a proposed 180-megawatt power plant in Sihanoukville and a 127-megawatt hydroelectric station in Kompong Speu, both of which could transfer power to Phnom Penh.
The Japanese government is conducting a study on the two proposed plants, and it should be completed by the end of next year.
However, the government hasn’t found anyone to fund the two proposed plants, so customers will have to wait at least two years before they see rates drop.
“Also, electricity prices won’t be lowered because gas prices remain high,” said Ty Norin, planning director of Electricite du Cambodge.
Jupiter signed an agreement with EdC last November to rebuild and operate an abandoned power plant in northern Phnom Penh. Utility officials said the plant was essential because the city would need about 100 megawatts, 35 megawatts more than the current supply, to meet demand in the capital in the next few years.
As Cambodia continues to develop, the number of electricity users in the city has increased from 20,000 in 1998 to 100,000 this year. Suy Sem estimates there will be 120,000 users by 2002.
Hun Sen said Thursday that Cambodia wants more power plants to expand electricity to rural areas that do not have power.
To do that, Hun Sen said, EdC will have to become more efficient. EdC has been hampered by scandals involving utility officials accused of stealing electricity and $4 million owed to the agency by government agencies and high ranking officials.
Hun Sen said he signed a government decree a few days ago to address the debt and require government agencies to pay the bills on time.
“I hope that these measures will help effectively address the challenges which EdC is facing,” Hun Sen said.
