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Thailand cuts power, fuel and internet supply to parts of Myanmar

Bangkok, Thailand Reuters Thailand has cut electricity, internet and fuel supplies to five border areas in Myanmar, a senior Thai minister said on Wednesday, as the South-East Asian nation steps up efforts to choke scam centres that have become a growing security concern. “They may face challenges of lower power supply, but we are at […]

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy hits back at Slovak PM Fico as gas transit dispute deepens

Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico on Saturday of opening a “second energy front” against Ukraine on the orders of Russia, as a gas transit dispute between the countries deepened. Ukraine pumps Russian natural gas through its territory to several European countries including Slovakia, but it is expected to halt […]

Pakistan begins restoring power after second major grid breakdown in months

Pakistan Karachi man with generator

Islamabad, Pakistan Reuters Pakistan’s government began restoring power to millions of people on Monday after a breakdown in the grid triggered the worst electricity outage in months and highlighted the weak infrastructure of the heavily indebted nation. An inquiry has been launched into the outage, which began at around 7:00am local time and has so […]

COVID-19 crisis makes electricity too costly for millions in Africa, Asia

India New Delhi apartments

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Thomson Reuters Foundation The economic toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has left more than 25 million people in Africa and Asia unable to afford electricity, threatening a global goal to provide power to everyone by 2030, international agencies warned on Monday. Two-thirds of those affected were in sub-Saharan Africa, deepening disparities in […]

First poverty, now pandemic threatens access to electricity

Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation One in 10 people lack electricity and the pandemic will likely make it harder still to meet a global goal of getting power to everyone by 2030, international organisations said last week. An annual report tracking progress on sustainable energy said more than a billion people have won access to electricity since 2010, […]

Fund smarter to switch on lights for the poor – UN envoy

Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation Everyone in the world could be provided with clean, affordable electric power by a global deadline of 2030 if international funding toward the effort is used more intelligently, the UN official in charge of the task said. Rachel Kyte, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for sustainable energy for all, told the […]

Subsidise solar mini-grids to power rural Africa, investors urge

Solar power Togo

Barcelona, Spain Thomson Reuters Foundation Local renewable-energy grids can provide electric power to hundreds of millions of people in developing nations, especially in Africa, but will not attract enough financial backing unless they are subsidised, a group of investors said on Monday.  Twelve energy and impact investors – with more than $US2 billion under management […]

Patchy progress on electricity access casts shadow on global goal

Power lines

Barcelona, Spain Thomson Reuters Foundation People are gaining access to electricity at a faster pace as governments ramp up efforts in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Kenya – but the prospects for many African countries remain gloomy, international agencies said last week. Globally, those living without electricity dropped to about 840 million in 2017 from one […]