Despite the government’s plan to spend millions to develop more hydroelectric power plants in Kayah (Karenni ) state the electricity won’t be available to most, especially those outside of cities and major towns.
U Saw Hu Hu, state minister of electricity, said that the government has hugely invested to ensure that everyone in the state has adequate electricity during a March meeting. Saw Hu Hu said some of this power would come from the construction of micro hydroelectric power plant and solar panels.
A micro hydroelectric power in Chit Kwet village in Bawlake township was started about seven months ago and still isn’t finished even though the need for electricity has grown. Officials blame the delay on technical problems and labour shortages.
U Tin Winn Shwe, of Bawlake District Administrative, said during a meeting with locals they are trying to solve the problems as soon as possible, adding that help from villagers would expedite the construction.
“ We went to the village to wire electricity, unfortunately it’s was also harvest time and they couldn’t help us. We need their labor.”
But one local said that residents have already pitched in. “Ministers came to our village to build the small hydroelectric power plant, and we helped them out together. But our village still has no access to electricity.”
There are about 500 villages in the state, out of this only 53 villages have electricity. Forty-nine villages are still using generators. The rest have no power at all.
The Lawpita Hydropower 3, still under construction, is one of three of the largest hydropower projects. The expected output is still unknown. The others include: Lawpita Hydropower Plant .2; completed in ‘74 with a capacity of 168 MW, and Lawpita Hydropower Plant 1, completed in ’92, yielding 28 MW.
In January of 2010, the Chinese state-owned China Datang Corporation signed a MOU with the then ruling regime to build three new dams on the Salween and Pawn rivers in Bawlake District, and another on the Thabet river in northern Loikaw.
Many people are getting fed up with mega development projects like the Lawpita hydropower plants that affect the water supply for residents living nearby and provided little, to no benefit, for most of the state residents.
