THE government plans to install two new power transmission lines from local substations to suburban areas of Yangon by the end of the year to reduce reliance on the national power grid, an official from the Yangon City Electricity Supply Board (YESB) said earlier this month.

U Maung Maung Latt, the secretary of the board, said one power line will extend from the Thanlwin power substation to South Dagon township, while the other will go from the Ahlone township substation to Myaung Dagar industrial zone. He said the new power lines would help reduce the loss of electricity during transmission.

“About 10 percent of the power is lost when it is transmitted from the national power grid. By installing new lines from substations serving Yangon we can reduce the loss of power during transmission to households,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electric Power (1) said the completion of the Yeywa and Shweli (1) hydropower projects would significantly boost power supplies in Myanmar. When completed in December 2009 the Yeywa hydropower project in Mandalay Division will generate 790 MW (megawatts) while Shweli (1) in Kachin State will generate 600 MW when it goes online by the end of this year.

Shweli (1) is a joint venture project with China, with about 85pc of the electricity generated expected to be exported to that country.