Introduction

The Ministry of Electric Power was established on 15 November 1997 for promotion and effective operation of the power sector. The Myanma Electric Power Enterprise which was previously under the Ministry of Energy has been put under the Ministry of Electric Power.

A new department called the Department of Electric Power was also formed which acts as a planning and policy making body and also as a secretariat to the Ministry. This new department is headed by a Director General with 124 personnel.

The Myanma Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE) remains as an implementing agency responsible for power generation, transmission and distribution throughout the country. The management of MEPE is headed by the Managing Director and Chief Engineer and organized with six operating departments namely: 

(1) Planning
(2) Hydro Power Development
(3) Operation
(4) Finance
(5) Administration
(6) Material Planning

MEPE has 16,526 employees

The Head Office of MEPE is located in Yangon, and the remaining ( 18 ) Regional offices are located in the capital cities of the ( 7 ) States ( 7 ) Divisions and ( 3 ) Sub-States and Divisions of the Union of Myanmar.

The area of electric supply in Myanmar can be defined into two parts:

(i)  Area of supply from National Grid System (The Interconnected System)
(ii)  Area of supply outside the Grid System.

The demand for electricity has been increasing rapidly over the the last few years.  Electricity generation increased from about 2,117 GWh in 1988-89 to about 4,579 GWh in 1998-1999.  Peak demand increased from 332 MW in 1988-89 to 750 MW in 1998-99.  This is more than double in 10 years.