Report from the World Resources Institute's Electricity Governance Initiative

1. 2014 EGI Global Partner Retreat
22-24 November, 2014
Ibis Riverside Hotel
Bangkok, Thailand
Hosted by the World Resource Institute (WRI) and Healthy Public Policy
Foundation (HPPF)

2. EGI Global Partner Retreat
Agenda
22-24 November, 2014
Ibis Riverside Hotel
Bangkok, Thailand
Day 1: Saturday, November 22nd
9:00-9:15 Welcome Introduction (Bharath)
Session 1 Governance challenges in meeting energy needs
9:15-10:45 Country-led Presentations
Presentations by Indonesia (Fabby and Ami), Mongolia (Oyunbadam) and South Africa (Happy)
15-20 minute presentations on the key issues and key governance challenges of the country
Presentations followed by 10 minute Q&A (per country)
10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-12:30 Country-led Presentations
11.00 – 12.30 Presentations by Brazil (Kamyla), Kyrgyzstan (Nurzat) and Philippines (Pauline)
15 - 20 minute presentations on the key issues and key governance challenges of the country
Presentations followed by 10 minute Q&A (per country)
12.30 – 13.30 Lunch
13:30-15:00 Country-led Presentations
Presentations by India (Narasimha, Antonette, Anjana), Tajikistan (Bakhadur), Thailand
(Suphakit)
15 - 20 minute presentations on the key issues and key governance challenges of the country
Presentations followed by 10 minute Q&A (per country)
15:00 – 17:00 Small group discussions
Day 2: Sunday, November 23rd
Session 2 The Future of the Grid study
9:00-11:00 Presentations on the “Future of Grid” research by EGI partners (Sarah, Gilberto,
Nurzat, Shantanu, Bharath)
11:00-11:15 Break
11:15-12:00 Open discussion

3. 12:00-12:30 lunch
12:30 Leave for EGI Partners Field Trip to Sufficiency Economy Learning Center, Don Phing Daed
Community, Phetchaburi province
14:30-14:45 Welcome drinks and refreshment
14:45-15:45 Presentations by Don Phing Daed Community
• Welcome and Introduction
• Organic farming
• Community energy
• Community enterprise on small-scale renewable energy
• Organic products
15:45-17:00 Community visit
17:00-18:00 Travel to a restaurant by the sea in Samut Sakhon province
18:00-20:00 Dinner
Session 3: Sharing Advocacy approaches
10:00-12:30: Sharing advocacy experiences
Presenters: Nurzat, Happy, Bakhadur, Thimma Reddy, Suphakit, Fabby
Session 4: EGI: what next?
13:30-15:00 Recent and future challenges on Energy Governance
1. Governance challenges for Oil & Gas sector: recent experiences in Thailand
Ms. Somlak Huntanuwatr, Sub-committee in the National Law Reform Office
2. Governance challenges community energy development
Ms. Wichitra Chasakul, NEW Foundation, Surin province
15:00-16:00 Q&A and open discussion
16:00-16:15 Break
16:15-17:00 Summary and closing
Focusing on sustainability of EGI national network; grants, business sources, commercial activity
for consumers, social enterprises

4. Participant List:
Brazil: Gilberto Jannuzzi (IEI); Kamyla Borges da Cunha (Energia Ambiente)
India: Shantanu Dixit (Prayas); Narasimha Reddy (PMGER); Thimma Reddy (PMGER); Antonette
D’Sa (IEI); Anjana Agarwal (WRI); Bharath Jairaj (WRI)
Indonesia: Fabby Tumiwa (IESR); Ami Indriyanto (IIEE); Hakimul Batih (IIEE)
Kyrgyzstan: Nurzat Abdyrasulova (UNISON);
Mongolia: Oyunbadam Davaakhuu (OSF)
Myanmar: Thein Aung (Dawei Development Association); Seng Gu (Paungku/Consultant for DDA);
Win Kyaing (E D C, Union of Myanmar/R E A M)
Philippines: Pauline Caspellan (Ateneo School of Government)
South Africa: Happy Khambule (Project 90x2030)
Tajikistan: Bakhadur Kabibov (Consumers Union of Tajikistan); lkhom Abidov (Consumers Union
of Tajikistan)
Thailand: Suphakit Nuntavorakarn (HPPF); Chom Greacen (Palang Thai);
United States: Sarah Martin (WRI); Sorina Seeley (WRI)

5. Welcome note from Davida Wood (EGI Project Manager, WRI)
Dear EGI partners,
Welcome to the 5th annual EGI partner retreat. Or perhaps this is the 7th EGI partner retreat. Back
in 2003, a smaller group of us met right here in Bangkok to discuss the possibility of developing
indicators of good governance of the energy sector, and then in 2006, we met here again in a big
jamboree in the Radisson hotel to present the assessments that had been done using those
indicators. Since then, we have grown both in number and in scope, building on our core
governance interests to encompass a broader range of thematic topics.
The electricity sector dynamics have shifted a lot since that time. We began in a context when trend
towards privatization was shaking the sector up, and since then, the sector has opened up to a
much broader range of actors than we might have imagined just 7 years ago – not just privately
owned utilities and IPPs, which were of such concern at the time, but also the space for smaller
clean energy entrepreneurs has flourished, and the potential for prosumers – individuals,
communities or firms that are generating their own power using local resources – is just beginning
to be felt. The sector is going from unbundled to distributed and is now possibly completely
unraveling – at least from the utilities’ perspective. At the very least, traditional roles are being
reformatted. We have been trying to come to grips with these new dynamics. On the retreat agenda,
the session on the Future of the Grid will share some of the findings that have emerged from a new
study some of us have been engaged with, and provide a space for a broader discussion with all of
your perspectives. The shifting power relationships raise new governance questions, but also keep
us on our toes.
I extend a big thank you to the Healthy Public Policy Foundation that has put serious thought into
how this gathering of civil society organizations can be of the most benefit both to visiting partners
and local experts, and for their work organizing the logistics and the special excursion. And thank
you to my WRI colleagues, Bharath, Sarah, and Sorina, as well as Shantanu Dixit, our special
knowledge partner from Prayas, Energy Group, for their hard work on both the agenda and the
logistics.
I am so sorry to miss being at the retreat, and catching up with all of you, both personally and
professionally. I always come away from our retreats feeling inspired by the unique space that is
created by the interactions of 20-30 brilliant people passionate about electricity governance!
I hope to see you at next year’s retreat. Meanwhile, enjoy!
Warm regards,
Davida

6. Session 1: Governance Challenges in Meeting Energy Needs
This session consisted of a full day of country-led presentations on key governance
(transparency/accountability/participation/capacity [TAP-C] and equity) challenges to meeting
energy needs per energy source in participant countries. Participants presented on governance
challenges on all relevant energy sources (coal, gas, oil, large conventional electricity generation,
large grid-connected renewable energy and other relevant energy sources) in meeting country energy
needs. The session was a comprehensive approach in beginning move beyond electricity and exploring
a more integrated picture.
What is governance?
Governance consists of the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is
exercised. This includes the process by which governments are selected, monitored and
replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies;
and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social
interactions among them. We need to look at transparency, accountability, participation, capacity
and equity and affordability.
TAP-C + Equity + Affordability
Ami Indriyanto (IIEE) – Indonesia
Indonesia has an 81% electrification rate with 47 million people without access to electricity,
mostly in remote areas.
Key Issues Transparency Accountability Participation Capacity Equity
Coal Possess 3% of
world coal
proven
reserves, but #1
coal exporter in
the world; has
80 years of
reserves
Discrepancy in
export data;
Limited records
on coal
exploitation by
smallholders &
illegal miners;
More detailed
data needs to
be opened for
public
Coal production
and
transportation
leads to
damages in
ecosystems and
public
infrastructure.
No one is held
accountable.
Collective
action
towards
over-
exploiting
the resource
and abusing
the nature
Local
communities
face
significant
negative
impacts, but
have limited
capacity to
take charge in
defending
their
livelihood
Poor electricity
service in
many coal
production
areas
Oil Production
decline, net
importer; has
23 years of
reserves
Influential rent
seekers in the
trade of oil and
oil products
Head of SKK
Migas is in jail
for receiving
bribes
Weak
capacity to
increase
proven oil
reserve and
crude oil
production;
No additional
refining
capacity in
decades;
Limited
storage of oil
products
Price of
gasoline RON
88 and diesel
fuel are heavily
subsidized, but
misallocated
beneficiaries

7. Gas Possess 2% of
world gas
resources, but
among top LNG
exporters in the
world; 50 years
of reserves
Data on
Domestic
Market
Obligation
(DMO)
implementation
is not available
Implementation
of Government
commitment to
allocate gas for
PLN and other
domestic
consumers has
been
inconsistent
Limited gas
infrastructure
(pipeline,
storage
facilities)
Large
Conventional
Electricity
Generation
Difficulties in
expanding
supply to meet
9% annual
electricity
demand
growth; in
sufficient
reserves
Need more info
at sub-national
level to allow
for
participation of
non-PLN
stakeholders
FTP I: supposed
to be completed
in 2011, is still
not 100% done.
Problems in
planning,
financing,
procurement,
EPC quality,
permitting, land
clearance
Expecting
more IPP
role in the
future, need
an improved
investment
condition
PLN capacity
to expand the
system is
limited by its
financial
capacity
Infrastructure
development is
still focused in
Java
Large Grid
Connected
RE
Geothermal
development
has been stalled
for many years
due to
conflicting
regulation
Permitting and
licensing
procedures are
long, costly and
uncertain
Government
agencies do not
resolve
conflicting
policies and
regulations
Large fund
facilities to
support RE
are
untapped,
lack of
capacity to
establish
clear policy
and
operational
procedure
Small & Mini
Re (Grid-
Connected,
Isolated)
Many resource
potentials are
underdeveloped
Permitting and
licensing
procedures are
long, costly and
uncertain; Grid-
connectivity
needs
information
from PLN at
project
planning stage
Limited data
on resource
potentials;
Limited
financial
capacity of
local
government,
developers
and
communities
Need a
comprehensive
policy to
realize the
potential of RE
for meeting
energy needs
of people in
remote areas;
Subsidies for
electricity
price is
applicable only
for grid-
electricity.

8. Fabby Tumiwa (IESR) followed up with two main points regarding in the Indonesian energy
sector:
1) The Indonesian government is panning the development of a new 4000 MW coal-fired
power plant in the next 5 years. 40-50% of the coal being used has low caloric value.
2) There are new moves to limit coal exports including the introduction of trade
regulations. These regulations would move to cap coal exports to no more than 400
million tons a year in an effort to curb coal production. However, regulations do not
currently seem to be having an impact on the mining sector.
Questions:
1) Are coal prices are coming down? When comparing the 2008-2009 international coal prices,
the price is declining. These lower prices are hitting coal producers.
2) How is the government justifying the price for generation capacity? For all independent
power producers (IPP), the price is based on negotiations. There are many variables in the
price calculations including the coal price. There are references prices agreed upon by the IPP
and the utility. If the coal price is above the reference point, then the cost difference is passed
through the utility that then needs to absorb the difference, the utility then passes the cost
onto the consumer.
3) Who are the main markets for coal exports? India and China and now Thailand and
Singapore. The products go to investor companies so it is difficult to monitor investment.
Officially, Indonesia exports 280 million ton of coal, the actual “non-official” figure is closer to
420 million tons. The 200 million ton discrepancy is an issue of not using export hubs and
smuggling.
Oyunbadam Davaakhuu (OSF) – Mongolia
Mongolia has 4 separate energy systems: Central Region Energy System (CRES); Western Region
Energy Systems (WRES); Eastern Region Energy System (ERES); and Altai-Uliastai Energy System
(AUES), all of which are almost entirely government owned with some minority private
shareholders. Currently, 95% of Mongolia’s electricity comes from coal, there are high transmission
and distribution losses, and 88% of the population has access to electricity.

9. Key issues in the sector include:
- Rising energy needs from growth in the construction and mining sector
- The government coal companies are discussing building new power plant –
however there are major delays in any construction due to political involvement
- Electricity prices are artificially low, leading to energy companies incurring losses.
As result, there is a move to move the market determined prices but due to political
reasons, subsidies are continuing.
- Lots of debts and receivables
- Very little transparency in the sector: transparency of budget information of
thermal power plants needs to be improved as well as with electric power
transmission and distribution companies.
- Some foreign donors are funding energy efficiency projects but due to budget
constraints the national government is not funding any big projects.
- 13% of energy is currently being imported from Russia in order to meet energy
needs.
EGI did their first assessment in Mongolia in 2013 and are now looking to undertake the second
assessment of electricity governance to see whether there is a change in the governance of the
regulatory and policy processes with the 2012 elected government.
Moving forward: the OSF is working to start the first assessment of the governance of major state-
owned companies in the energy sector of Mongolia using the Handbook for corporate Governance
developed by the International Financial Corporation in 2004.

10. Happy Khambule (Project 90x2030) – South Africa
Electricity Planning:
South Africa is technically 86% electrified, however only 10% have access to basic lighting. Coal has
been labelled as a strategic resource leading to high quality coal being exported and low quality
coal being used by domestic power plants which has major health implications for those living close
to power plants. Additional energy sources include and related issues include:
- Oil + Gas: Imported and subject to volatile prices and high operating costs.
- Solar and Wind: 3% of energy mix and all privately owned
- Biogas: Part of the IRP but only used by local communities in rural areas; is not
identified as a viable source; and is seen as a last resort rather than mainstream.
- Nuclear: 1.1% of generation capacity, likely to go up to 8% 2030. Nuclear is, like coal,
under political control
However the South Africa government is rent seeking from all sources. Coal has vested interests
and is under political control and influence.
South Africa has an Integrated Energy Plan, looked at every 10 years, an Integrated Resource Plan,
looked at every 2 years but no other policy documents that feed into these such as an energy
efficiency policy. Almost all polices are created by the Department of Energy even though
everything is closely linked to social issues. Additionally, many presidential decrees give conflicting
information which leads to a lot of public uncertainty.

11. Key challenges in meeting energy needs:
- Energy/electricity crisis including: electricity needs, greenhouse gas emissions, air
quality, water security
- Economic growth including: saturations, industrialization, low carbon economic
aspiration and GDP
- Inequality: including both economic and gender inequalities
- Poverty alleviation: affordability and energy poverty
- Job creation
- Climate change
- National vs. local planning
Key issues:
- Vested interests
- Political influence
- Coal is not a debate, the government says we will have it
- No residential recognition for solar
- Do we need CSP plants when the demand is at household level?
- Local communities not benefiting from wind – mostly farmers, rich and elite
- Biogas – not identified as viable source from central government, seen as an alternative
- Nuclear – political issue, not discussed, secret and private
- Gas and oil: volatile prices and high operating costs not subject to political control
- Key changes from IRP since last year
- Policy inconsistencies – don’t have any certainty
Questions:
1) Is energy efficiency treated as a resource in IRP/IEP? Civil society is pushing to incorporate it
as a resource. Since energy efficiency is not on the supply side, what can be done are demand
side reductions so the IRP/IEP doesn’t talk of energy efficiency anymore.
2) What is the role of unions? They are not happy about the existing renewable energy process.
They are pushing for renewable energy localization.
3) Are the IRP and IEP processes open to the public? There are elements of public participation,
but no real public consultations.
4) What are the impacts of new transmission corridors on costs? Transmission starts from the
central corridor and moves outwards, it does not accommodate solar or wind corridors and so
maintaining this transmission network will cost more than connecting.

12. Kamyla Borges da Cunha (Energia Ambiente) – Brazil
The Brazilian energy sector is heavily dependent on renewable energy with 71% of electricity
generation coming from hydropower plants. Despite this energy source being renewable such a
heavy dependence also leads to a lot of uncertainty due to climate and rainfall patterns. According
to the government, electricity demand will increase 4% per year, reaching 689 TWh in 2023. With
such a demand growing, there is a need for the development of more plants; however the remaining
hydro potential sites are in biodiverse and fragile areas of the Amazon. Consequently,
complementary energy sources are going to be required to meeting growing demand.
High potential energy sources in Brazil and their challenges:
- Wind: already a mature and competitive player in the energy market. However there is
a lack of transparency of government auction mechanisms; a lack of human resources
specialized in dealing with wind technologies; and delays in connecting wind power
plants to the grid.
- Solar: planning still does not provide explicit the technical, economic, social and
political premises in making projections and there is lack of specialized human
resources to deal with solar technologies.
- Biomass: While there is a huge potential for biomass, it is hard for biomass to compete
in auctions and biomass availability depends on external factors, most of them related
to sugar and ethanol markets while natural gas availability is more stable.
Hydro
71%
Natural Gas
8%
Biomass
7%
Oil
4%
Ror Hydro
4%
Coal
2% Wind
2%
Nuclear
2%
Installed Capacity in Brazil

13. There are 3 main challenges standing the way of an environmentally sounds and socially equitable
power future:
1) Governmental Planning is not a real plan, rather a projection that changes every year.
Planning tools should guarantee affordable tariffs, ensure operational safety and have a
focus on renewables.
2) Government auctions are not designed in a transparent manner. They are determined by
the Ministry of Mines and Energy which creates space for economic and political
interference.
3) Environmental assessments lack an institutional, economic and political structure. They are
done by provincial agencies which lack technical and institutional capacity; only large hydro
and nuclear plants have environmental assessments done by federal agencies.
Governance Challenges:
Questions:
1) How does the government compensate for its low load factor with wind? Installed capacity
has increased but generation hasn’t increased that much – wind capacity is good.
2) Is there any people’s mobilization? Some civil society organizations have provided other
visions for the power sector, for example GreenPeace, provided a document in 2008 providing
a long term vision but people themselves are not really mobilizing.
3) What is the primary driver of demand growth? It is primarily residential caused by an
increase in the purchasing of appliances.

14. Additional comments by Gilberto Jannuzzi (IEI-LA) – Brazil
There are no explicit subsidies to wind, only subsides to developers. Wind can compete with
conventional sources but solar has not been able to win auctions. Wind complements hydro, during
the dry season wind can replace it.
Nurzat Abdyrasulova (UNISON) – Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is 100% electrified, including remote areas but now there are a lot of new settlements
which are having problems with electricity connection. Almost 60% of all energy is imported and
most energy comes from hydrodams. The electricity sector in Kyrgyzstan has been closed and
highly corrupted for the last 20 years.
In 2010, Kyrgyzstan underwent a revolution, in part sparked by increased tariff rates without
public consultation. After the revolution, the new government established FESTI, which has
increased transparency of investments, utility costs, tariff structures and corporate polices of the
sector.
Key challenges in the electricity sector include:
- Tariff Policies: were political, final tariff prices are set by the parliament, even if the
government gave other recommendations. In 2014 there were changes of the Law on
Energy and Electricity and tariffs became issues of the government and an independent
regulator was set up. Currently there is a “medium term” policy leading up to 2017 which
would make electricity double the price and heat 70% more expensive.
- Energy Crisis: KyrgyzGaz was sold to GazProm in 2013 and Uzbekistan stopped supply to
the southern part of the country. Additionally, there have been periods of water shortages

15. and electricity deficits in the winter when consumption is three times higher. These
shortages are increasing the need to import more electricity from neighboring countries.
Addressing challenges:
- Increasing public information: on energy deficit and investment needs
- There is now an online camera of the Toktogul reservoir for transparency on water release
- Smart meters have been introduced and plans for establishing an independent cost center
- There has been a reduction of technical loses from 40% (2008) to 17% (2014)
Energy Sector Investments:
- New loan investments for generation and transmission capacities.
- Increased transparency and accountability by technical economic assessments and
environmental and social impact assessments.
Public objective on accountability:
- Decreasing corruption
- Low quality of supply and justification of tariff increases
- Independent financial audit of energy sector for justification of the cost of generation and
distribution
- Lack of trust in data because it comes directly from the companies
- Lack of Long term strategy development for the sector
Questions:
1) What are key structural issues? Mostly political issues, there is too much intervention from
parliament where there is still a lot of corruption
2) How are tariff calculations determined? Calculations were done by the ministry of energy,
now by an independent agency were public participation is required by law. Public discussions
need to be organized in all parts of the country, but often the government gives too short
notice for people to attend. Additionally, there is no instrument for feedback and showing if
and how public comments are incorporated.
3) What is the response to the blackouts? There is no real response; really it is blamed on
consumption rates being too high.

16. Pauline Caspellan (Ateneo School of Government) – Philippines
The Philippines has an 83% electrification rate however this is not seen as very accurate since 94%
of people surveyed live in urban areas and there are still 16 million people that have no access to
electricity. Currently, the Department of Energy’s 2013 Supply-Demand Outlook projects there to
be a 4.41% increase in electricity demand based on the annual average growth rate.
Main Energy Sector Goals:
1) Ensuring more energy security
2) Achieving optimal energy pricing
3) Developing a sustainable energy system
4) Aiming to expand the capacity of the existing grad and interconnect the island grids
While there is a National Renewable Energy Plan (NREP) oil and coal remain. Given archipelago
character of the country, move towards renewable energy makes economic sense. There are 3 main
grids in the Philippines, done by island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Luzon: is the largest grid and more than half off installed capacity is from coal-fired or natural gas.
20% comes from hydropower 15% from diesel; and 5% from geothermal.
Visayas: 38% comes from coal
Mindanao: is vulnerable to power outages especially during long dry seasons sure to its reliance
hydropower plants.
There are 8 basic laws that govern the Philippine energy industry:
- Article 12, Section 2, 1987 Constitution (Natural Resources)
- Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997
- Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001
- Presidential Decree No. 40
- Electricity Crisis Act

17. - Renewable Energy Act of 2008: provided a lot of incentives for renewable energy
investment
- issuances of the Energy Regulatory Commission
- Wholesale Electricity Spot Market pricing rules
The National Renewable Energy Plan 2011: to increase the country’s renewable energy-based
capacity by 2030
Current issues in the power sector:
- Highest electricity rates in Asia
- Lack of transparency in energy pricing
- A continued dependence on fossil fuels
- The support for renewable energy development under the current administration is
unclear
- There are still many coal projects in the pipeline
- There is a lack on conducive legal frameworks for renewable energy finance
- A drop in natural gas power plants
- The “true cost of coal” is still not made clear
Questions:
1) Is there a lack of transparency in how the regulatory commission approves tariffs? There is
lack of public consultations – the rules are there but in reality, people are not notified so they
cannot participate.

18. Narasimha Reddy (PMGER); Antonette D’Sa (IEI); Anjana Agarwal (WRI) – India
At all stages of power production there are losses and technical and financial issues. 36% of people
don’t have electricity and there are so many issues with primary energy that secondary energy is
required for electricity generation. Supply of electricity is poor with inadequate supple and full
access not provided.
The power sector in India is largely government controlled. About 70% of coal produced goes to
power generation and 60% of power is produced from coal.
Indicators of bad electricity governance in India:
- Supply deficit
- Pricing targets
- Low access
- Low efficiency
Key issues in the Indian power sector include:
- Resource availability
- Improper methodology used to estimate reserves
- A lack of competition in supply
- Artificially lower prices
- The environmental clearance process is slow
- There are very few captive mines producing coal
- Coal linkages are given for an amount great than production capacity increase
Key challenges include:
- Institution and territorial fragmentation
- Badly managed multi-level governance
- Limit capacity and the local level
- Unclear allocation of roles and responsibilities
- Questionable resource allocations
- Bad financial management
- Lack of long term strategic plans
- Poor economic regulation
- Poorly drafted legislation
- Insufficient means for measuring performance
- Weak accountability
- Low transparency
- Misaligned objectives
- Poor management of interactions between stakeholders
There is no “one-size-fits-all” answer to respond to governance issues, rather home-grown and
place-based policies are needed. It is necessary to take stock of recent experience, identify good

19. practices and develop pragmatic tools across different levels of government and other sectors with
increased engagement and fair and sustainable energy policies.
Bakhadur Kabibov (Consumers Union of Tajikistan) – Tajikistan
Key challenges in the power sector include: political “sustainability”; regional tension and trade and
nepotism. Everyone moved to electricity for heating and now electricity is used for everything.
Although the country is 100% electrified (99% from hydropower), some places only have 3-4 hours
of electricity a day.
Governance challenges:
- Theft chain and losses
- “Administrative” energy efficiency
- Bribery
- Contract management vs. restricting
- Partial investment
Suphakit Nuntavorakarn (HPPF) – Thailand
The current electricity generation breakdown in Thailand is: 65% natural gas; 21% coal (all
imported) and lignite; 7% imported; 4% domestic hydro and 2% hydro. National energy planning is
ongoing, including a renewable energy development plan.

20. The problems of Alternative Energy Development Planning and the implementation in
Thailand:
- Merit Order VS. Priority Access for renewables
- Assessment of renewable energy potential: ‘feasible’ potentials
- Limitations of the Grid capacity
- Opening the Transmission System Development Planning for renewable energy
- No systematic mechanism for adjusting the Adders and Feed-in Tariffs to reflect the cost
reduction
- A root cause for corruption
- Civil society is pushing for Renewable Energy Act for not only rely on each government and
each minister policy
There is currently an energy conservation master plan which is highly economically feasible. In
2011, the government approved a target of 96653 GWh in 2030 which is equal to the decrease in
Peak demand of 17,470 MW. Taking into account the reserve margin of 15% in PDP, the target will
reduce the need for new power plants of 20,091 MW, in comparison; it can replace 25 coal power
plant projects.
The new Energy Efficiency Master Plan 2015-2035 will:
- Increase energy efficiency targets in 2035 to 24,500MW
- Reduce the need for new power plants
Problems of power development planning in Thailand:
- Over forecast on peak demand
- Not including the full potential of sustainable energy options, particularly EE
- Lack of meaningful public participation
- No real acceptance of PDP from people
- Conflicts in power plant projects
- Structural issues
Structural problems of the Power Development Plan

21. Questions:
(1) What is the difference between the PDP plan and the Alternative Energy Development Plan?
The PDP plan and AED plan – done by different departments; PDP is the priority – done by
main power ministry. In principle, all four master plans are equivalent but in practice, PDP is
the most important.
1) How much of the natural gas is imported? What is the projection for the future? Starting to
import from Myanmar but gas reserves in Myanmar are also depleting, so they are now
importing from Oman and therefore costs have gone up.
Win Kyaing (E D C, Union of Myanmar/R E A M) – Myanmar
In Myanmar, 76% of energy usage comes from wood and charcoal and is mostly off-grid. Currently,
there is no regional energy policy and plenty of natural gas that does not get used. There is 540
million tons of coal in reserve, but it is all of low quality so we mostly import it from China. There
are also potential sites for hydropower dams being mapped out. As Myanmar develops, there will
be an increased demand for electricity and more of a need to improve distribution systems and
more of a need for foreign investment.
Breakout groups:
In this section, partners broke out into groups of 5-6 people to discuss issues related to electricity
governance and the potential role for EGI.
How to make public participation more meaningful
What is meaningful public participation? Having a substantial period of time for a process of
public participation that is decided upon ahead of time – and making sure that this time period is
known by the public in advance. Also, have a minimum threshold of people that need to consulted
as a part of the process.
Four ways to make public participation more meaningful:
1) Technical expertise: CSO input is often narrative – we need to find a way to make the input
more quantitative (learning to speak the same language as the government) might not
really be possible for the public but they can work with technical NGO’s/CSO’s who relate
this information – for example WWF, Greenpeace, academic institutions
2) Expanding the public voice: people can use mass media to make public participation more
meaningful – more campaigning – more advocacy
3) Defining a legal framework for including public participation, for example having input
models or feedback loops for addressing public opinions and making sure they are
addressed.
4) Regional and international solutions: not only approaching the national government but
also other institutions such as the World Bank; IMF, international embassies etc.

22. Routes to improve access to electricity
Access does not just mean end use; it means something that enhances productivity – electricity as a
commodity, and use of electricity for income generation, i.e. something more than mere satisfaction
of lighting, cooling requirements. There needs to be a prioritization of electricity in the planning
process, as an indicator and target and the allocation of resource to facilitate increased access.
Additionally, there needs to be a shift from national planning to more local planning.
The potential uses of technology:
- At every level/scale – more efficient production at the large, power plant scale, and also
at the smaller community and household scale [target not just poor households but all
households, technology as a means to integrate] – coupled with different
regulations/governance structures for each level
- To facilitate optimal energy use, use for income generation
- For links to other sectors
- GIS mapping, etc. better location of projects
- Monitoring impacts and effectiveness of plans
- When discussing technology, it is important to make a cost comparison and that cost
comparison should include the cost of using that technology in different geographies
and cost of any capacity building that may be required to deal with O&M
Procurement of renewable energy for efficient tariff and effective scale
There are many benefits of moving towards renewable energy. Renewable energy does not only
generate electricity for the national Grid but also:
- Can generate income for people who can sell fuel and energy, particularly farmers
- Can create jobs
- Can create a new industry and market
- Can protect the country from increase and/or volatile fossil fuels prices
- Can help prevent climate change
The problem is that renewable energy development is designed badly or not at all so currently:
- There is no data or information available to the public
- There is a closed off decision making process
- There is a large burden on consumers
- There are large profits for certain companies
- “The richer and getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”

23. Institutional changes needed for improving electricity planning
There is a need for more decentralized planning, including equity as a top priority in planning.
Additionally, there is a need for institutions to focus more on distributed energy structures to help
to respond to geographical discrepancies. There is currently a big disconnect between consumer
and electricity issues. Consumers unions should be at the table during all planning processes and
there needs to better coordination between different sectors and agencies. There are also financial
challenges, with a lack of government financing to fund projects talked about in planning strategies.
What is the potential role of EGI?
- Use data from energy modelling at sub-national level to provide inputs to planning process
- Cost delineation for use of technology in different geographies
- Align energy planning and policies with socio-economic objectives at the local level
- Roadmap for inclusive participation
- Access index across countries, updated yearly
- Transparency initiative on the cost of RE
- Global learnings on procurement policies
- Inclusion of distributed energy options on 10Qs on IRP
- FoG 2.0

24. Session 2:
The purpose of this half day discussion was to share current research findings on the “Future of the
Grid” research being conducted by EGI partners. This is a multi-country study of technology and cost
trends and implications for the centralized grid systems and actors like regulators, grid managers and
utilities.
Future of the Grid Research Team: Sarah, Gilberto, Nurzat, Shantanu, Bharath
There are key changes taking place in the electricity sector including rapid growth and increases in
demand. Modern infrastructure has yet to be built in some countries with very limited energy
access in some places, energy efficiency potential yet to be explored and an increase in direct
renewable energy purchasing. The future of the grid looks at these questions from the point of view
of how they impact the centralized grid. It looks at how things have traditionally been looked at,
how regulations have been developed and what else is happing in countries.

25. Key Questions in the Future of the Grid Project:
- How will the growth in decentralized technologies, renewable energy and energy efficiency
impact the centralized electricity system and the utility planning processes?
- What opportunities does this evolution present and, in turn, what institutional capacities
need to be enhanced?
- What risks to the delivery of affordable, clean power could these trends raise?
Approach:
By focusing on a select group of developed countries that are already seeing these trends impact the
centralized electricity system (Germany and the US) and developing countries that see large
potential in EE and RE scale up (China, Brazil, India, and Kyrgyzstan), the project seeks to:
• Identify the potential new roles that the centralized electricity system would need to
play to make effective use of these trends and opportunities
• Guarantee system reliability, stability and affordability
Currently, paradigm shifts in the energy sector are causing uncertainty. There are changes
happening in technology, policy and business models. Although policymakers intend to make
changes in fuel shares (i.e. higher share of renewable energy), the rates at which these changes are
occurring are not accurately predictable and may lead to unintended consequences or leave too
short a time to prepare for the implications.
Key trends:
- Growth rates of more than 50% for solar and around 25% for wind

26. - Growth rates of electric vehicle sales demonstrate an annual growth rate of 100%
- Solar PV technology improvement
What is driving this growth?
- Huge improvements in technologies and EE
- Massive drops in prices for good technology
- Solar PV/LED lights
- Significantly higher and more volatile coal prices
- Seeing cost in RE technologies dropping significantly
- Growth in government support for RE
- Alternative grid models for electricity consumers to meet their needs
- Pace of adoption is increasing
18,300
57,300
100,400
22,800
11,600
29,900
65,900
17,70013,500
27,400
29,300
10,5008,200
7,200
10,100
5,300
51,700
122,050
206,450
57,500
2011 2012 2013 Q1 2014
RoW
China
Japan
Europe
North America

27. The Future of the Grid: Brazil
Prof. Gilberto Jannuzzi (IEI-LA) - Brazil
There is a global trend towards cleaner technologies, even if some countries are not doing it or are
not interested, they are going to have to accept these trends are happening. The large
interconnected centralized power system that we currently have is an important system that
already exists and works well. Since we already understand the grid and it works, we should
integrate new technologies into it.
There is high participation of centralized renewable sources:
Wind is rapidly growing due to feed in tariffs and auctions.
Due to a high dependence on hydro, Brazil is highly vulnerable to climate change. While hydro is
not as intermittent as most renewable energies, since 2003, Brazil has stopped building damns due
to environmental reasons and storage capacity since then has not be stable.
Evolution of Regulation:
- Regulatory facilities for new sources of electricity generation and their connection to the
grid
- Incentives to Micro-generation (<100kW) Mini-generation (100kW-1MW)
- Net metering scheme for residential consumers
- Some states are offering fiscal incentives to RE local generation and installation of RE
manufacturers
Biomass
8%
Wind
1%
Natural Gas
11%
Oil
4%
Nuclear
2%Coal
3%
Hydro
71%

28. Policy Instruments:
- Large Feed-in Program
- Public Benefit Charges
- Competitive and technologies specific auctions
Bottle necks of the current energy sector and towards a new grid system:
- Need to improve planning methods and governance of the power sector to accommodate
more solar, wind and de-centralized resources. Improving the articulation amongst public
agencies.
- New energy technologies: Room for domestic R&D and industrial development; need new
business models, new regulation, new agencies (dedicated EE&RE bodies).
- Incorporate energy efficiency and other demand-side resources in the planning and
operations of the sector.
- Need to move beyond large centralized hydro-plants
- Utilities are interested in investing in centralized renewable energy plants but await official
guidelines (public policies) and incentives
- Increasing awareness about the effects of climate on domestic energy security favoring de-
centralization and regionalization of supply sources
Overall, there is a need for better and a more sustainable use of our primary energy resources. We
need to build off of existing infrastructure and integrate low carbon technologies and lifestyles.
Shatanu Dixit (Prayas, Energy Group) – India
In India, there are people without access to electricity and a lot of electricity shortages, due to
structural problems. There are natural resource limitations and concerns over energy security. As
the share of renewable energy increases, weather dependency also increases.
Implications for India:
1) The character and nature of grid will change very significantly – move from unidirectional
flow of electricity (from a few centralized projects) to multidirectional flow of electricity –
already starting to see this – will increase complexity, and how we deal with transmission
network, etc.
2) Many more participants in this process – many consumers may rely on grid only as backup
or for ancillary services, like wheeling, energy banking – shift away from primary energy
provider – change in role of grid.
Challenges associated with these changes:
1) Cross subsidy approach will come into question – huge political issue.
2) Need for completely different tariff structure - say tariff x for providing reliability services
3) In this scenario, maybe the cost of providing grid services will increase.
4) Much greater focus needed on knowledge management
5) Rethink institutional framework – role of local engineers will become more complex – they
will have an increased role in system management and planning.

29. Sarah Martin (WRI) - USA
Common implications of global trends:
- Increased number of generating entities: For example, in Germany, over 50% of RE
generation is owned by individual citizens or energy cooperatives.
- Changing utility roles/business models: valuation of utilities is reducing dramatically. For
example, in Germany, utility share of electricity generation fell by 7% between 2011-2012.
Additionally, the role of the electric utility is becoming more focused on providing series
through programs and policies such as: energy banking and net metering; enable captive
(self) use and open access models; and facilitating integration infrastructure.
- Changing electricity markets: From vertically-integrated utilities operating with wholesale
competition in the US to open access laws in India, electricity markets world-wide are
moving towards increased competition.
- System Planning/Planning process: Planning is shifting from solely meeting annual energy
requirements to managing increased system complexity a new priority.
- Grid network development: There is increasing attention to planning and massive
investments in transmission network development to accommodate RE integration
- Network technologies: There are new network technologies – forecasting, ICT systems,
storage, energy efficiency, etc. – are continually emerging and changing what is technically
possible for the grid.
- Price equity/considerations: Properly valuing and distributing system costs amongst
customers will become increasingly important to increase electricity access and
maintaining affordable prices.
Session 3 – Sharing Advocacy Approaches:
In this session, partners shared case studies and examples of both successful and unsuccessful
advocacy approaches EGI partners have used to influence electricity governance in their countries.
The session was used as a skill-share of successful advocacy efforts – with the aim of enhancing the
networks collective knowledge, but also identifying how and why certain approaches were successful,
how successes were defined, how successes were tracked and measure, what the role of the media and
national politicians was, were international actors involved, was there a use of EGI tools and how were
the resources for the advocacy interactions established?
Fabby Tumiwa (IESR) – Indonesia
PLN is the only utility in Indonesia and it serves 54 million customers. It has a complete monopoly
over the electricity sector. From 1972 to 2009, PLN has a special status as “Authorized Agency for
Electrical Power Business” but in 2009, the status was removed. PLN is now no different than any
other utility of IPP but is assigned by the government to supply electricity to the general public. It is
still the largest utility in Indonesia today, with revenue of $23 billion in 2013.

30. Challenges:
- Changes in the power
- Chronic governance issues such as: lack of transparency; heavy political intervention
corruption; lack of supervision from regulatory bodies.
- Public trust in PLN is very low
Potential areas of corruption:
- In investment decisions
- Procurement of fuel and electrical equipment
- Consumer interfacing activities
- Commercial operation and electricity left
- IPP contracts
Strategy moving forward:
2003-2009
- Detected vulnerabilities in policy/regulation
- Assessed governance challenges of PLN
- Investigated possible corruption practices
- Worked with anti-corruption commission
- Demanded public transparency
- Used mass media – created headlines, shaming and naming
2009 and onwards:
- Looking at more structural improvement – e.g. tariff and subsidy, level of services
- Encourage on positive development of improving good corporate governance and anti-
corruption effort of PT PLN
- Use media to deliver critiques, but less shaming and naming
Creating an enabling environment:
- Effective anti-corruption policies since 2005 – onwards
- Anti-Corruption Commission performance
- The establishment of President Delivery Unit (UKP4) that set up key performance
indicators for Ministries and SOEs that deliver public services
- Perception of financial market
Notable progress to date:
- Prosecution of corrupt employees
- Internal improvements at the PLN on procurement
- Overall improvements on GCG

31. Nurzat Abdyrasulova (UNISON) – Kyrgyzstan
Through using the EDIT toolkit, UNISON has highlighted some main concerns in the Kyrgyzstan
electricity sector:
1) Low quality of electricity
2) Bureaucracy
3) Low public awareness
4) Complicated communication with utilities
In 2014, UNISON repeated the EGI assessment (first completed in 2009) to look for improvements
in the sector. The preliminary results were quite positive. Through using measurements of voltage
quality, they found that in apartments 96% of electricity was good quality but in households, only
8% was good quality.
In 2011, FEST was established and CSO’s have more of an official roles and status. Consumer energy
advocates are:
- Looking at issues from a grassroots level and making regional changes at the consumer
level
- Travelling to regions and hosting public discussions and inviting local NGO’s to the network
- Creating active Facebook pages, using YouTube, website and information corridors
- Using crowdsourcing the information dissemination through cell phones
Main achievements include:
- 3000 appeals made by energy consumers
- Public consultation for 5000 citizens
- 300 trainings, workshops, roundtables, 10 public hearings
- 9500 participants
- Regular policy briefs and position papers from the consumer perspective
Case study: at the mid-term tariff policy there was monitoring of public decisions; releasing policy
briefs and press releases of topics and opinions; and FESTI organized a workshop. In September,
new tariff was released which was twice as high but then based on NGO appeal, it was cancelled and
a new draft of the tariff methodology was released.

32. Shantanu Dixit (Prayas, Energy Group) – India
There is a lack of transparency at the level of service. There were attempts to sanction regulators
and to put monitoring systems on main lines but after many years of trying, the utilities and
regulators would not do it. As a result, Prayas, Energy Group is putting together a consumer
monitoring system. The monitoring system is the small hub, the size of a mobile phone charger
which connects to a household plug and can collect data for several years. The hub records voltage
each minute and transfers the information directly to a website. On the website, summary reports
are easily viewable. CSOs can then use this information as concrete evidence when approaching
regulators and utilities.
Bakhadur Kabibov (Consumers Union of Tajikistan)
Key advocacy approaches with EGI Tajikistan:
- The use of mass media: using www.barknest.tj
- More cooperation between Consumers Union and Barki Tojik; Consumers Union and State
Agencies and working more with agencies such as the World Bank
- Changes at the local level and using the EDIT toolkit

33. Thailand: Suphakit Nuntavorakarn (HPPF)

34. Session 4 – What Next?
External speakers were invited to share their ideas on recent and future challenges on electricity
governance.
Governance Challenges for the Oil and Gas Sector: Recent Experience in Thailand – Thai Leak
Group
There is an increasing awareness among Thais about energy issues which has had an impact on
political unrest. People have become more aware that the government and energy corporations are
not being fully transparent. In efforts to increase access to information, the Thai Leak Team has
travelled around the country, giving over 300 hundred lectures and empowering local people. They
are trying to bring awareness to issues such as:
- Exploiting Thailand’s natural resources
- Preventing the construction of more drilling rigs
- Prevention invasion of public rights
- Preventing natural gas exploration
- Preventing more petroleum exploration
The profits for oil and gas companies are extremely high while the public is adversely affected in
terms of health, livelihood and their environment. Current laws are outdated and are still being
used to benefit companies and not the public.
The discovery of shale gas in Thailand means that there is a real need for both social and
environmental impact assessments to be objectively completed.
The government needs to provide transparent policies for managing energy and natural resources
for the public’s best interest.

35. The Social and Environmental Aspects of Renewable Energy- Bharath Jairaj (WRI) – India
During this retreat we have spoken a lot about the governance challenges associated with
conventional energies; however we also need to think about the governance challenges associated
with renewable energy. When renewable energy is scaled up, several of the issues that are relevant
to traditional energy are also applicable to renewable energy.
Costs and Benefits:
- How are the costs on renewable energy developed?
- How are feed in tariffs covered? In India, rural consumers were charged high rates and in
Germany, costs fell on private households and energy intensive industrial plants were
exempt
- Projects with partial or full local ownership and tangible local benefits have a much higher
acceptance rate
Environmental Issues:
- 45% of wind turbine construction happens in forested areas
- Constructing roads to mountain top areas leads to: land fragmentation, soil erosion and hill
top cutting which all have cascading impacts and full life-cycle impact assessments are
necessary
Other concerns include: property rights and property value; gender issues, religious beliefs; health
risks; aesthetics; impacts on wildlife and biodiversity.
Renewable energy is not all “clean and green” and governance (TAP-C and equity) issues are all still
relevant. Not focusing on proper scale up will impact the acceptance, growth and scale of renewable
energy.
Governance Challenges for community development - Wichitra Chusakul (NET foundation) –
Thailand
What is local community energy development?
It is development that involves local people in the decision making process as well as in project
implementation. Often for larger projects, local people don’t get involved in the process since they
do not have the right access to data and sufficient knowledge of impacts.
Energy development by local community’s needs:
- Appropriate know how from communities
- Investment capital
- Enabling finance and loans
- Networking
- Local wisdom mixed with new technology
- Experience

36. Wrap up and next steps for EGI:
- Improving Access (global)
- ESMI (country level)
- Scaling up renewable (global)
- Adding to the “10 Qs to Ask” series (global)
- Integrated planning (country level)
- Future of the Grid (FoG)
Partner suggested next steps:
- Comparing fossil fuel subsides among EGI counties?
- A framework on studying environmental externalities?
- Renewable energy best practices?
- Studying the costs of fossil fuels?
- Studying renewable energy policies in major oil and gas manufacturing nations?
- Start producing educational info in local languages
- Promote local level energy planning in alignment with national level socio-economic
objectives
- Look at the role of mini-grids in providing energy access
- Have a public participation framework
- 10Qs to Ask on Regional/Cross-Country energy projects
- Need to make more connections between climate change issues and the energy sector.
- Study deployment of large scale rooftop and cross subsidy surcharge implications
- Expand network? Develop national networks? Engage with more local CSOs.