An energy bill, which sets limits on extraction and sale of natural gas, has been forwarded to the ongoing parliament session, the Ministry of Energy (MoE) said.
The ministry revealed that it is planning to use natural gas extracted inland and offshore only for generating electricity as part of its efforts to attain full electrification of the power-starved country.
According to the World Bank (WB), Myanmar has one of the lowest electrification rate in the world with only 33 percent of the population having access to electricity.
The World Bank in January committed $1 billion in loans to Myanmar to help expand electricity generation, transmission and distribution in the country.
The Bank said Myanmar could increase access to electricity to 50 percent of the population by 2020 with the funding and private sector investment. The government has set a target of achieving 100 percent national electricity access by 2030.
According to the ministry’s statistics, Myanmar’s installed capacity currently stands at 4,361 megawatts (MW), falling short of the current demand.
Official figures show that foreign investment in the country’s power sector stood at $19.28 billion as of June, accounting for 41.28 percent of the total FDI inflow.
