Investigation into transmission options for cross-border power trading in ASEAN power grid

This work is a feasibility study of high voltage AC (HVAC) and high voltage DC (HVDC) transmission option for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Power Grid (APG) interconnections. An optimal power flow, a minimum-cost power generation model, is developed in the MATPOWER simulation platform to perform this analysis. Electricity generation and consumption data are taken from the latest power development plans of individual ASEAN countries for the evaluation of optimal cross-border power flow through the interconnections. Results show that APG can enhance power generation from countries with abundant renewable resources to meet the growing demand at load centers in the ASEAN member nations. An annual cost is used as the output matrix for this study. The analysis results reveal that in some interconnections, implementing HVDC link instead of currently planned HVAC could be economically beneficial for the APG. The findings in this paper would serve as valuable references for the APG planners. •Interconnected ASEAN power grid (APG) to enhance cross-border trade.•Free movement of green electricity within ASEAN through interconnected APG.•Feasibility of HVAC and HVDC transmission options towards APG establishment.•Optimal Cross-border power transmission in low-cost generation environment.•Investigating the annualized cost of energy loss for individual transmission link of APG.