According to some analysts, if the national power distribution situation in Myanmar is compared around February 1, 2021, the electricity has decreased by nearly half after February 1, 2021, and the power outage situation will continue to worsen in the future.
During the NLD government, electricity coverage reached 60% of the country in 2020, but after February 1, 2021, Myanmar's electricity situation continued to deteriorate, and in 2023, electricity coverage reached only 36% of the country's total.
Because the electricity distribution industry is a project that serves the public, it is a non-profit project. Although the previous editions have suffered losses in terms of electricity, they are all trying to get more electricity in Myanmar.
A power engineer said that at the moment, Myanmar** is not working hard for electricity. In 2021, Myanmar's maximum power generation capacity reached 3,997 MW, and in 2022, the maximum power generation capacity reached 3,494 MW. Data for December 2023 shows that only a maximum of 2,640 megawatts of electricity can be provided. Electricity is decreasing year by year, and we hope that we can work to replenish the electricity, for the sake of the people, and hope to improve the current situation.
A resident of Yangon City said that although the city implements power supply on a rotational basis, the power outage time is very irregular, and people's daily life has been greatly affected.
He said that the power supply is very unstable now, and in the past, the call came at 9 o'clock in the morning, the power was cut off at 1 o'clock, and then the call came again at 5 o'clock. But now it's almost dawn, and there is no call at 9 o'clock in the morning, and the call is also cut off early. There are even times when the power goes out after only an hour of incoming calls. Sometimes when the cooking time arrives, there is no call, and the people face a lot of difficulties, and it is not easy for migrant workers to go to work.
Myanmar relies heavily on hydropower to produce and transmit electricity, with only 21 of the country's 28 hydroelectric power plants currently in operation before February 1, 2021.
According to people familiar with electricity, the blackouts will continue to worsen because of the authorities' weak management of electricity. Compared to before February 1, 2021, electricity is currently much reduced, and the northern parts of Kachin, Kayah and Shan States cannot be fully allocated electricity.