Transformers at Chaungzone Station
(Photo: MNA)

Villages on the new Bilu Kyun electrical grid include: Mukew, Kadar, Kon Yeik, Taung U, Taungzone, and Dare, among others.

Bilu Kyun is an island about the size of Singapore in the Thanlwin River opposite Moulmein, the Mon State capital. All 78 villages on the island come under Bilu Kyun's own special township, Chaungzone Township.

Previously, the only source of electricity on the island was a diesel powered generator in Chaungzone Town that supplied expensive power to 10 villages for limited periods of time.

Daw San Myint, a resident of TaungU Village said: “I am very happy to see that we are going to have electricity. Now, we can cook [with electric cooking appliances] and we can use [electric] fans when we get hot. It is not easy to use candles and locally generated electricity to light up our house,”

U Zaw Zaw Khet, a Chaungzone Township electricity department engineer said: “It took 80 days to complete the project running 66 kV [kilovolts of] electricity from Moulmein to Chaungzone. On 17 January we tested the electricity lines to the Chaungzone Electricity Branch [office]. On 18 January we tested power from the [Chaungzone] sub-station to the villages of Kalaw, Dare, Kaw Mupoon and Kamar Kay.”

He said that at present seven villages were currently receiving electricity and that they expect to connect 15 more villages to the grid before the end of the month. Eventually 36 villages on Bilu Kyun should receive electricity and local electricity committees would be established to distribute power to the remaining villages.

Dr. Aung Naing Oo, a Mon State Hlutaw (parliament) Representative said: “From the Chaungzone electricity sub-station, the power line splits into four towards Kawe, Kaw Mupoon, Muyit Kalay, and Ywa Lwat villages. [The electricity department has] already installed transformers and utility poles to distribute the electric power from those four lines to individual homes. The four lines carry 11 kV, the transformers in the local areas will carry 400 volts.

"Beyond [this project], no additional government budget has been allocated, so residents are forming local electricity committees among themselves to be able to access electricity. This second step [of forming committees] is already done. All that is left is connecting the power to households in the villages,”

The union and state governments allocated 46,000 million Kyats for the electrification project that was launched in November 2015.

Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI