Wired for profit: Grid is the key to unlock ASEAN energy investment

The report argues that ASEAN's transmission grid expansion must roughly double to align with IEA pathways, as current national plans for Indonesia, Viet Nam, the Philippines, and Thailand cover only about 45% of the required expansion. It highlights that 30 GW of solar and wind potential is located along planned interconnection routes in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Brunei. To support this transition, the report proposes a six-pillar framework for future-ready grid planning—including smart modernisation, strategic expansion, and market reforms—and suggests learning from the integrated power systems of Europe and Southern Africa to move from bilateral to multilateral power trade.

• Transmission grid expansion in key ASEAN countries is significantly behind the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Announced Pledges Scenario (APS). Between 2023 and 2030, Indonesia, Viet Nam, the Philippines, and Thailand plan to add 45,076 km of lines, which is only about 45% of the 100,000 km target for Southeast Asia.
• Planned interconnection routes in the region could unlock 30 GW of renewable energy capacity, specifically 24 GW of solar and 5.6 GW of wind, located in Cambodia, Brunei, Sarawak (Malaysia), and the Riau islands and Sumatra (Indonesia).
• Solar and wind generation are projected to increase from 4% of the current power mix to between 23% and 25% by 2030. However, grid constraints have already led to curtailments, such as in Viet Nam where the utilisation rate of its largest solar farm dropped by as much as 40% in 2022.
• The report identifies several clean flexibility options to maintain grid stability, including pumped hydro, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and demand-side management (DSM). Pumped hydro is particularly noted for its ability to provide long-duration storage and grid inertia.
• Accelerating regional connectivity is estimated to increase GDP across ASEAN by 0.8% to 4.6% and could create between 2,000 and 9,000 new jobs annually. Specifically, 30 GW of new solar and wind installations could create approximately 182,000 jobs.
• The report proposes a six-pillar framework for future-ready grid development: smart grid modernisation, strategic grid expansion, system flexibility and resilience, regional integration and interconnection, market and regulatory reforms, and sustainable finance and investment mobilisation.
• Current ASEAN power trade is primarily bilateral and unidirectional. The report suggests moving toward a multilateral model, citing the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) as examples of successful regional coordination.

APA

Setyawati, D. D., & Nadhila, S. (2025). Wired for profit: Grid is the key to unlock ASEAN energy investment. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/05/Report-Wired-for-profit-ASEAN-PDF.pdf

Chicago

Setyawati, Dr Dinita, and Shabrina Nadhila. Wired for profit: Grid is the key to unlock ASEAN energy investment. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/05/Report-Wired-for-profit-ASEAN-PDF.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Setyawati |first1=Dr Dinita |last2=Nadhila |first2=Shabrina |title=Wired for profit: Grid is the key to unlock ASEAN energy investment |publisher=Ember |date=15 May 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/05/Report-Wired-for-profit-ASEAN-PDF.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{setyawati2025wired, author = {Setyawati, Dr Dinita and Nadhila, Shabrina}, title = {{Wired for profit: Grid is the key to unlock ASEAN energy investment}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/05/Report-Wired-for-profit-ASEAN-PDF.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }