Singapore (VNA) – Singapore is set to ink an agreement with Laos, Thailand and Malaysiaat an ASEAN meeting next month to advance cooperation on cross-border powertrading, Singapore’s Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng saidon October 26.

The memorandum ofunderstanding for the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power IntegrationProject (LTMS-PIP) is expected to be signed at the 38th ASEAN Ministers on EnergyMeeting, which will be hosted by Vietnam mid-November, Tan said in a speech atthe Singapore Energy Summit, which is part of the Singapore InternationalEnergy Week (SIEW) 2020.

The LTMS-PIP currentlyinvolves the sale of electricity from Laos to Malaysia, with Thailand acting asa transit country, according to a September 2019 report by the InternationalEnergy Agency (IEA).

Establishing multilateralpower trading would allow ASEAN member states to tap into the potentialbenefits of an integrated ASEAN power system, including reduced costs and anincreased ability to integrate variable renewable energy resources, the IEA said inthe report.

Tan quoted an ASEAN Energy Outlook report set to be published next month as saying that the ASEANCentre of Energy has predicted that the regional energy demand would increaseby more than 70 percent between 2020 and 2040.

To ensure a sustainableenergy future, the ten member states have agreed to lower energy intensity andgrow the renewable portfolio in their energy mix, he said.

Within ASEAN, there arealso extensive discussions to promote the use of natural gas through awell-coordinated and connected regional gas market, the minister added./.