Third Meeting of the Regional Power Trade Coordination Committee (RPTCC-3): Summary of Discussions

The Third Meeting of the Regional Power Trade Coordination Committee (RPTCC-3) was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 7-8 April. The meeting was co-organized by the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts (MIH) of Lao PDR and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The RPTCC-3 meeting discussed the following:

• (i) second draft of the final report of the study for the regional power trade operating agreement (RPTOA) including- (a) general design, key revisions and changes in recommended actions, (b) draft text of Initial Agreement to install Stage 1 of RPTOA, with timeframe and plan for approval and signing, and (c) proposed institutional arrangements of RPTOA;
• (ii) interim report for the preparation of the GMS Power Interconnection project Phase I;
• (iii) country presentations on proposed framework for RPTOA;
• (iv) GMS energy cooperation projects and institution building for RPTCC;
• (v) consultants' feedback on discussions on RPTOA and RPTCC institutional development;
• (vi) update/ revision of the work plan of the RPTCC;
• (vii) the proposed GMS Power Transmission line interconnection PRC-LAO-THA;
• (viii) proposed TA paper for energy sector strategy study; and
• (ix) development partners' perspective on GMS energy cooperation. Attached, as Appendix 1, is the Agenda and Program of the Meeting.

The participants included delegations from the Kingdom of Cambodia, the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), the Union of Myanmar, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and representatives from the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Soluziona (ADB Consultant), Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)/ Fichtner (ADB Consultant), and World Bank.