World Bank adds $7.7 million grant for ASEAN Power Grid preparation

The World Bank approved an additional $7.7 million grant on June 19 2025 to the ASEAN Centre for Energy to advance ASEAN Power Grid project preparation toward 2045 operationalisation. The cross-border grid-integration model offers Indian planners a reference for regional renewable-power exchange architecture.

The World Bank approved an additional $7.7 million grant, announced June 19 2025, to the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) to bolster ASEAN Power Grid (APG) project preparation. It builds on an earlier $5 million allocation from September 2024 under the World Bank's $2.5 billion Accelerating Sustainable Energy Transition (ASET) program. The financing supports long-term operationalisation of the ASEAN Power Grid by 2045, in line with ASEAN Vision 2020, enhancing project-preparation capabilities through a dedicated facility for feasibility assessments, transaction structuring, and coordination among ASEAN member states.

The grant affects ten ASEAN economies, the ASEAN Centre for Energy, development partners, and private financiers. ACE's strengthened role will facilitate coordination to align transmission regulations, investment frameworks, and cross-border power purchase agreements. The ASET grant also funds the ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study and advisory support to mobilise investment. Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand have already initiated bilateral power-exchange mechanisms that the funding will help scale into a formalised regional architecture, enabling member states to tap the region's diverse solar and wind mix and reduce fossil-fuel dependency.

Institutional investors and national energy planners should monitor opportunities in cross-border infrastructure, clean-power trade, and technical services aligned with green-finance frameworks. The initiative supports Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement while attracting ESG-aligned investment. Indian planners pursuing regional grid integration can study the masterplan study, harmonisation of transmission regulations, and cross-border power-purchase-agreement structuring. Watch progress toward the 2045 operationalisation target and how integrated grids reduce electricity costs, limit carbon emissions, and minimise climate-related supply shocks.

Key figure — Additional grant: $7.7 million to ACE under the $2.5 billion ASET program