The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), Agence française de développement (AFD), and the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) have signed two grant financing agreements to accelerate the development of the ASEAN Power Grid (APG). The agreements were formalised during the 3rd APG Stakeholders Meeting in Jakarta on 4 December 2025, aiming to enhance energy connectivity across Southeast Asia.
The collaboration between AFD and ACE will support feasibility studies for a cross-border interconnection line, a crucial step in advancing the APG. This initiative is part of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation and the ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study. ACE will work closely with ASEAN Member States and related bodies to implement the project.
Additionally, the AFD-ETP agreement will fund the establishment of the ‘ASEAN School of Regulation’, a joint initiative with the ASEAN Secretariat and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. This school aims to equip energy regulators with the skills needed to facilitate cross-border power trade within the APG framework.
Jean-Pierre Marcelli, Southeast Asia Regional Director of AFD, emphasised the importance of the agreements, stating, “Facilitating the ASEAN Power Grid through feasibility funding and capacity building is the ideal engagement with the ASEC and ACE that AFD can undertake to advance ASEAN connectivity and energy transition.”
The agreements underscore the strategic partnership between ASEAN and France, as highlighted by Fabien Penone, Ambassador of France to ASEAN, who remarked on the project’s significance in strengthening Asia-Europe alliances. This development marks a significant step towards a secure, affordable, and sustainable energy future for the region.
