Myanmar Doing Business

Top Menu

Getting Electricity

At a Glance : Getting Electricity

2020 Ranking: 148

2020 Distance to Frontier Score*: 56.7 (up from 55.67 in DB2019)

Regional Average (East Asia Pacific): 75.1

More information on Myanmar’s performance in Getting Electricity - Click Here!

* The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest per-formance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. (Source; World Bank)

What it measures

Procedures steps, time duration and cost to get the electrical connection from the power grid, the reliability of the electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs.

Why does it matter?

Poor and unreliable connection
  • Electricity connection and quality of supply identified as the third biggest obstacle to doing business in the developing world - World Bank Enterprise Survey (2016). Efficient and reliable connection correlated with higher income levels.
  • A reliable electricity supply boosts productivity: a limited/unreliable supply of electricity constrains private sector investment and hinders productivity.
  • Electrification rate: greater time and cost to get an electricity connection are associated with lower electrification rates.
  • Access the regulatory framework: electricity services are among the most regulated areas of economic activity. A study covering 28 developing economies found that a higher quality of regulatory governance is associated with higher per capita electricity generation.

Procedures

Step Details Time Required/Charges
1. On the request for new connection, site inspection by township engineer and governance office. Then, step by step inspection and permission by district, state/ regional engineers and head engineering office.  For YESC, the required application forms can be obtained form [https://yesc.org.mm/rates]
For other State and Regions, Transformer Application Form can be obtained from [http://www.moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/page/106] and other application forms such as meters can be obtained form
[http://www.moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/page/107].

17 calendar days 
 
 
[http://www.moee.gov.mm/en/igni te/page/594]
2. Await completion of con-nection works by a licensed electrician A licensed electrician hired by the client carries out the connection works. The client is required to install a transformer for any connections above 30 kVA. Further details of procedures, including required documents etc. are available here [https://yesc.org.mm/rates]

7 calendar days

Total cost depends on how much the customer pays for the connection works and transformer installation to the licensed electrician.
3. Obtain meter installation by utility The customer applies for the meter box installation. Further details of procedures, including required documents etc. are available here [http://www.moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/page/107, 108 ]

2 calendar days

There is no charge for meter installation by utility. Total cost depends on how much the customer pays for the meter box. 
4. Final (joint) inspection by Ministry of Industry and Engineers form YESC/ESE  A joint inspection is carried out to check the transformer installation (by the utility) and the connection works and internal wiring (by the Ministry of Industry) 

3 calendar days

 

Doing Business also measures the reliability of supply and transparency of tariff, specifically:

  • Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year
  • Mechanisms for monitoring outages
  • Mechanisms for restoring service
  • Regulatory monitoring
  • Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages
  • Communication of tariffs and tariff changes

 

What has improved

In the current situation, records and publishes details of every power outage in Survey City, Yangon, including time, duration, location and the reason for the outage (planned, unplanned and for load shedding) are carried out. Details available here [http://www.moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/page/631 and http://www.moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/page/628 and https:// yesc. org.mm]. Similar information is now being collected for other States and Regions across the grid.
Details of electricity tariffs is published and updated information is always informed for transparency. Details available here [http://www.moee.gov.mm/en/ignite/page/593].
The time taken to review applications , inspect the site inspection and give the connection permission (procedure #1) has been reduced from 29 days to 17 days. This has been achieved by [http://www.moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/page/381 and http://www.moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/contentView/1523]
The number of procedures has been reduced from 6 to 5 since May, 2018. Now, number of procedures has already reduced from 5 to 5 4 by instituting a joint final inspection by the utility and the Ministry of Industry, instead of two separate inspections. This information can be achieved by [http://www.moee.gov.mm and https:// yesc. org.mm].
An automated system, SCADA system for recording the frequency and duration of power outages was put out for tender at the end of 2018. As soon as its process is started, reliability and transparency of electricity supply will be effectively improved.

 

Action Plan

Action Item Timeline Status
Published a user-friendly guide to the application process for a new connection application that includes all procedures, document requirements, fees and timelines on the website and in brochures and other relevant printed literature already published  http://moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/page/594 https://www.moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/page/106 https://www.moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/page/107 https://www.moee.gov.mm/mm/ignite/page/108 https://yesc.org.mm/private-transformer
Review documents required for getting an electricity connection, and eliminate any that is not necessary  already published https://yesc.org.mm/private-transformer
Consider the establishment of a regulatory commission as provided for in Chapter 3 of the Electricity Law (2014) Medium Term Under Negotiation
Introduce SCADA, to support for  the automatic monitoring of the frequency (SAIFI) and duration (SAIDI) of power outages. At present all information is collected manually. Q4 2020 Implementing
Continue installing sectionalizers, autoreclosers and low break fuses which can reduce the frequency (SAIFI) and duration (SAIDI) of outages, and upgrade cables to reduce faults and distribution losses  Ongoing New items of equipment contain SIM cards to allow information on interruption of power supply to be relayed in real time. It speeds up the identification and repair of faults, and therefore reduced the duration of outages and improved the reliability of supply. 

 

Lead Person

U Myint Thu

The Getting Electricity Indicator Support Group is headed by the Chief Executive Officer, Yangon Electricity Supply Corporation, Ministry of Electricity and Energy

Our Partners

 

Enter your email address below to receive latest news from Myanmar Doing Business.