South Asia faces such development hurdles as climate change and dependence on fossil fuels. Nevertheless, the region has made progress in providing access to electricity, even in remote locations.

The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) partnership has served as a platform to further cooperation and growth in the region. SASEC countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. According to said Jiwan Acharya, project officer, Asian Development Bank (ADB), “The reliability and availability of clean, affordable power is key to maintaining regional development momentum and economic growth.”

A new ADB project, named Promoting Energy Transition through Regional Cooperation and Integration in South Asia, will prepare cross-border energy projects, conduct capacity development, and facilitate cooperation among energy agencies in among SASEC countries. The regional project is funded through the Clean Energy Fund under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility.

The project will develop a digitalization road map and help assess models for creating a country and regional digital platform, to help energy agencies to share data on energy supply and demand, as well as up-to-date information on power trade transactions.

• Powering South Asian Growth via Regional Energy