Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR)

Lao PDR Power Sector Vulnerability Assessment and Resilience Action Plan

USAID's Clean Power Asia program partnered with NREL to assess the power sector of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) vulnerability to natural, technological, and human-caused threats, and to develop a resilience action plan to address the highest-risk vulnerabilities.

To lead and inform these activities, an advisory group was established. It is composed of representatives of the Lao Ministry of Mines and Energy, the state-owned utility (Électricité du Laos or EDL), and the generation company (Électricité du Laos-Generation).

The NREL and USAID Clean Power Asia team worked with the advisory group and employed a participatory approach to assess power sector vulnerabilities and address the highest-risk vulnerabilities through effective resilience strategies that:

1. Emphasizes the unique context of the power sector in Lao PDR
2. Relies on extensive stakeholder engagement
3. Involves detailed review of the latest scientific research to support a vulnerability assessment
4. Draws on international best practices and expert input to develop resilience strategies and implementation action plan for the Lao PDR.