USTDA Promotes ASEAN Connectivity Through Smart Grid Development

November 13, 2012

(USTDA) Connecting ASEAN Leaders in Power Sector with U.S. Smart Grid Companies

HANOI, VIETNAM – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) kicked off the U.S.-ASEAN Smart Grid Workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam, the second event of the U.S.-ASEAN Connectivity Cooperation Initiative. The Workshop is bringing together approximately 100 officials from private industry as well as power utilities and regulatory agencies from throughout the ASEAN region. The event is providing an opportunity for the participants to discuss lessons learned and international best practices, as well as interact with expert speakers from the U.S. power transmission and distribution sector.

Through this Workshop, USTDA aims to assist in the standardization of smart grid and transmission networks in the region, which in turn will aid in the implementation of a wide range of technological tools for improving energy efficiency. USTDA Director Leocadia I. Zak, noted that, "we see enormous benefits of cooperation with international partners in finding and utilizing economical and efficient tools to address the challenges associated with power distribution, transmission, and management."

USTDA has a long history of supporting the power transmission and distribution projects in the region which have resulted in the sale of U.S. goods and services. Recent program acitivities have supported: the Provincial Electricity Authority and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority of Thailand; the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company, Inc. and Manila Electric Company of the Philippines; PT PLN of Indonesia; and Electricity Vietnam and the National Power Transmission Corporation of Vietnam (NPT). The two day Workshop will be followed by a reverse trade mission to the United States, where delegates will have the ability to visit organizations that are implementing smart grid programs, manufacturing related components, and offering consulting, design, and engineering services. The visit will allow the delegates to build upon the concepts discussed during the Workshop, by witnessing practical applications of smart grid technologies.

During the Workshop, USTDA Director Leocadia Zak announced USTDA's approval of a technical assistance grant to develop a new information technology (IT) and smart grid roadmap for NPT. The program will link a team of U.S.-based experts from Tangible International of Virginia with NPT to expand and modernize Vietnam's electrical grid. In addition to helping NPT develop the IT architecture for its smart grid implementation, the Tangible International team will assist NPT design a telecommunications system that will enable the power company to identify and react to time-senstive transmission situations on its large electric grid.

USTDA launched the U.S.-ASEAN Connectivity Cooperation Initiative in conjunction with the ASEAN-U.S. Leaders Meeting held in Indonesia in November 2011. Leveraging U.S. private sector resources and expertise, USTDA will work with U.S. companies and ASEAN partners to support activities such as reverse trade missions, feasibility studies, technical assistance and workshops that foster effective new partnerships between private sector and government entities to increase connectivity and investment in the energy, transportation, and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors. The Connectivity Initiative is designed to support ASEAN's goal of fostering greater connectivity to achieve an economically integrated ASEAN Community by 2015.

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