The 11^th ASEAN Energy Regulatory Network (AERN) was held virtually on 29 July 2020. The Meeting is hosted by the Directorate General of Electricity, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, that is representing Indonesia in the AERN. Prior to this meeting, back-to-back meetings of the AERN Working Group (AWG) 1 and 2 were held, whereby the regulators reviewed the topic about technical and regulatory harmonisation (AWG1) as well as legal and commercialisation (AWG2).

The AERN was formed to forge closer cooperation among ASEAN energy regulators in order to promote sustainability and economic development in the region. The AERN is tasked to: i) Collaborate on regulatory issues related to ASEAN flagship integrated energy projects such as the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) and the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline (TAGP); ii) Promote consistency in energy regulation in the region through information exchange and dialogue; iii) Develop a channel for communications among ASEAN energy regulators to promote mutual understanding and mutual benefit to energy regulation and regional economic development; and iv) Promote knowledge sharing and capacity building among ASEAN energy regulators on regulatory issues and best practices.

The issue of the impact of Covid-19 on energy is also the main concern for the regulators. Hence, Mr Beni Suryadi, ACCEPT Project Manager, was invited to present the findings from the survey that was conducted by the ASEAN Climate Change and Energy Project (ACCEPT), and also the findings from the series of Energy Insights on Covid-19 vs. ASEAN Energy Sector.

COVID-19 vs ASEAN Energy Sector: Electricity in Q1/2020

“Falling electricity demand is a dire impact of COVID-19 as the quarantine practice, which urges power utilities to cope. Left hanging between temporary technical adjustment and the necessity to revise the power development plan once things are back to normal, the pandemic ripples uncertainty to the whole power system. Further down the line on the government side, emergency policies are needed to balance these two: keep the impacted citizens to afford electricity and supporting power utilities to survive the declining revenue.”

COVID-19 vs ASEAN Energy Sector: Electricity in Q2/2020

“In the mid-end pandemic, as countries including the ones in struggles began to reopen the economy, the overall electricity demand is yet to recover. This reopening economy requires power utility companies to review the electricity masterplan and to prioritise more sustainable energy projects, while also secure their budget. Skyrocketing electricity bills, particularly in the household sector, insisted the government offer tariff waivers or exemption but with a limited period. The disbursement of stimulus to both electricity consumers and producers are vitally needed, to provide a proper recovery plan in the power sector.”

Reliable information is very crucial for decision making, especially in this challenging time. That is why ACCEPT established a dedicated page that provides various updated information and analysis on the energy and climate change in ASEAN in related to COVID-19. You will find the detailed results from our survey on this page. Various analysis that we produced through our Energy Insights. Readers can also see the collection of the news in every ASEAN country from various news media. So, by visiting this page only the readers can get the whole picture of what is happening in Southeast Asia. In this website, it is also provided the policy tracking that provides you the information on various measures and plans from the government on energy and climate change issue. For further detail, please feel free to visit our website.