News & Activities

On June 2, 2015, Hongsa Power Company Limited, located in Lao PDR, began the commercial operation of its Unit 1 and started to supply electricity through a 500-kilovolt transmission line to the grid of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). The commercial operation date (COD) was in line with the power purchase agreement made with EGAT, marking an important success for the project.

The success offered an important step toward the energy security of Lao PDR and Thailand. Hongsa Power Company Limited received a 25-year concession (2016-2041) from the Government of Laos to build a 1,878-megawatt mine-mouth power plant consisting of three units, each having a production capacity of 626 megawatts of electricity. The project required an investment of US$3.71 billion or about 120 billion baht. The CODs of Units 2 and 3 are in November 2015 and March 2016 respectively.

Hongsa Power Company Limited was registered in Lao PDR with three shareholders, namely Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Company Limited (RATCH), which is listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand, holding 40% of the company, Banpu Power Limited (BPP), a subsidiary of Banpu Public Company Limited, holding 40%, and Lao Holding State Enterprise (LHSE), a state corporation of Laos, holding 20%.

The Lao PDR government has set the Hongsa Power Plant as a model of an eco-friendly coal-fired power plant that is well accepted by communities. Therefore, in addition to supplying electricity to EGAT and LHSE, the plant has been committed to environmental conservation and community development since 2010 and shall be so for the rest of its concession.