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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