February 13, 2025
VIENTIANE – Electricité du Laos (EDL) confirmed on Tuesday that electricity transmitted to Myanmar is not used by illicit call centres, after both sides carried out inspections.
The state enterprise reiterated that the power is supplied only to public users, including residents, small businesses, government buildings, and essential social services such as schools and hospitals.
Last week, EDL slashed electricity supply to Tachileik district in Myanmar’s Shan State by half to 13 MW in an attempt to prevent use by the call-centre gangs. The restriction comes after the amount of electricity transmitted to the neighbouring state, which borders northern Bokeo province, surged in recent days, rising to 27 MW, after Thailand cut off its power supply to Tachileik in an effort to paralyse the call-centre gangs.
The state company signed a power purchase agreement with Tachileik district in 2021 through a private company licenced by Myanmar, and began electricity supply in May 2022.
Under the agreement, EDL will supply no more than 30 MW at a voltage of 115kV to Tachileik. In practice, the company has exported just a maximum of 13 MW as the district in Myanmar receives about another 15 MW from neighbouring Thailand.
Laos has power sharing agreements with neighbouring countries under the ASEAN framework for electricity cooperation, with its supply to Myanmar limited solely to Tachileik district.