U.S. conglomerate General Electric (GE) on Thursday inked a $1 million deal with Cambodia’s state-owned Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) to conduct a six-month study to identify weaknesses in Cambodia’s electrical grid with the aim of enhancing the reliability of the power supply.
According to the EdC, the distance between the country’s main power sources, located in the southern provinces of Kampot, Preah Sihanouk and Koh Kong, and energy-hungry Phnom Penh leads to inefficiency in the delivery of electricity, and frequent outages.
“To solve this problem, it is necessary to study more clearly the technical side of the system as a whole from power producing generators to the power grid and other [aspects],” EdC said in a statement Thursday.
As part of the deal, GE’s consultancy arm will also provide technical assistance to the EdC’s Energy Management System—a computerized program that monitors and controls the grid’s performance—for five years.
Speaking at the signing ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, U.S. Ambassador William Todd said: “Two or three years ago, about 25 percent of Cambodia was on the grid. Today, the number is just under 50 percent, and hopefully, through the study, it’ll be greater than that.”
