ABSTRACT
The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) is the first and probably the most relevant case study for potential power interconnection projects in ASEAN. This multilateral trading scheme was established in 1995 between power utilities of 12 Southern African countries, although bilateral power trade and existing interconnections between Southern African power utilities pre-dated the SAPP. However, years of ongoing economic development created the need for additional generation and transmission infrastructure in the SAPP. The widening shortage of supply capacity caused load shedding and emergency electricity imports for some countries. This chapter looks at the multitude of reasons behind lagging infrastructure development, such as lack of coordinated development, no clear endorsement of intended projects, no aggregated demand forecasts, excessive bureaucracy, and non-cost-reflective electricity tariffs. Many of these issues are pertinent to the countries in ASEAN today, which face similar socioeconomic and political conditions as countries in Southern Africa.
