Download the PDF file (6.58 MB). The 7th Meeting of the Planning Working Group (PWG-7), 8th Meeting of the Focal Group (FG-8), and 8th Meeting of the Regional Power Trade Coordination Committee (RPTCC-8) of the Greater Mekong Subregion were held in Luang Prabang, Lao People's Democratic Republic on 25 to 27 November 2009. The PWG-7 meeting took stock of the progress of work under Regional Technical Assistance (RETA) 6440: Facilitating Regional Power Trading and Environmentally Sustainable Development of Electricity Infrastructure in the GMS, particularly its two components. These are the facilitation of development of regional power trade, and capacity development for environmental impact assessment of power projects. Forthcoming activities were discussed with the presentation of the work plan and timetable for the remainder of RETA 6440. The FG-8 meeting discussed the progress of power development programs of GMS countries, taking into account the effects of the global financial crisis on power demand and its consequences on planned power generation and transmission investments. The discussions looked at how these developments affect the milestones identified in the memorandum of understanding on the Road Map for GMS Cross-Border Power Trading (MOU-2) signed during the Third GMS Summit in March 2008 and the status of energy items in the Vientiane Plan of Action , 2008-2012. Forthcoming RETA 6440 activities and work plans were to be adjusted for better alignment with MOU-2 milestones. The RPTCC-8 meeting undertook the following:

• discussed ways to strengthen linkages between RETA 6440 and other subregional programs in promoting environmentally-sustainable regional power trade development;
• firmed up the objectives, scope and components of proposed projects for advancing regional power trade under the GMS Energy Road Map;
• shared knowledge and experience that would provide suitable generation and transmission technology options for GMS countries' power development programs; and
• shared appropriate GMS practices for promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency in the subregion -- a continuation of Subregional Energy Forum knowledge sharing series.