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Fast-tracking the Asean Power Grid amid global energy turmoil

While constraints remain, a faster pace of implementation is increasingly feasible

    • In 2025, Asean member states signed an enhanced Asean Power Grid memorandum of understanding, building on the original 2007 agreement.
    • In 2025, Asean member states signed an enhanced Asean Power Grid memorandum of understanding, building on the original 2007 agreement. PHOTO: BT FILE

    THE current geopolitical turbulence has sharpened the importance of the Asean Power Grid (APG) as a strategic tool for managing energy risks in Asean.

    The Asean Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2026-2030 does not treat the APG merely as a physical infrastructure agenda, but instead reinforces its role as a strategic regional platform – one that can harness the region’s diverse energy resources for shared economic benefit.

    Accelerating the APG would offer Asean policymakers access to a collective buffer that allows for the sharing of risks against external energy disruptions similar to the ongoing global oil supply shock, reducing the need for economies to navigate global volatility on their own.