Strategic insights

The report outlines the necessity for ASEAN countries to shift from reactive grid expansion to proactive system transformation to support variable renewable energy. It proposes a six-pillar framework for future-ready grid planning—covering smart modernisation, strategic expansion, flexibility, regional integration, regulatory reform, and sustainable finance—and draws comparative lessons from the integrated power systems of Europe and Southern Africa to advocate for a more connected and resilient regional market.

• Current grid planning in some ASEAN nations is insufficient for the transition to renewables; for instance, Indonesia's PLN Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) focuses on transmission and distribution expansion but lacks detailed strategies for grid modernisation.
• The prevalence of regulated monopolies in countries like Indonesia hinders the pace of infrastructure innovation because utilities are not incentivised to modernise and are mandated to provide affordable electricity, even from coal sources.
• 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.
• Europe's integrated power system, managed by ENTSO-E, serves as a model of high-scale interconnection, linking 39 Transmission System Operators and 600 million customers with 93 GW of capacity across 400 interconnectors.
• The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) demonstrates the benefits of regional cooperation among 22 utility companies from 13 countries, utilizing the Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Facility (RTIFF) from 2020-2025 to unlock financing via the World Bank, COMESA, and TDB.
• The Greater Mekong grids, connecting China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Viet Nam, have been limited by low-voltage lines, inflexible agreements, and a lack of third-party access since the 2002 Inter-governmental Agreement on Regional Power Trade.

APA

Ember (2025). Strategic insights. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/strategic-insights/

Chicago

Ember. Strategic insights. 2025. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/strategic-insights/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Strategic insights |date=15 May 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/strategic-insights/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2025strategic, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Strategic insights}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/strategic-insights/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }