Climate change and the shift to cleaner energy push Southeast Asia to finally start sharing power

ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and VICTORIA MILKO
Associated Press

Hanoi, VIETNAM (AP) — The urgency for Southeast Asian nations to switch to clean energy to combat climate change is breathing new life into a 20-year-old plan for the region to share power. Most power grids in the region are not connected, partly due to political issues and technical problems. Malaysia and Indonesia inked a deal in Bali, Indonesia in August to study 18 potential locations where cross-border transmission lines can be set up. In a long awaited step forward, last year Singapore began importing clean energy from Laos via Thailand and Malaysia. That was the first cross-border electricity trade in the region involving more than two countries and also has helped revive a project for a regional grid.