Written by Rowena Cristina L. Guevara. Undersecretary at the Department of Energy Philippines From 2023 to 2025, the Philippine power system experienced a period of sustained pressure. Electricity demand continued to rise, with Luzon peak demand exceeding 14,000 MW for the first time. Yellow and Red Alerts occurred in all three grids during the dry […]
What does “communities’ solar” look like in practice? As part of its ongoing work on “Communities’ Solar” in Thailand, the project CASE for Southeast Asia (CASE) in Thailand conducted a field visit to the Ban Yang Daeng community, Khu Yai Mi Sub-district, Chachoengsao Province, on 7 May 2026, to better understand how community solar initiatives are […]
Despite the rapid expansion of electricity generation and near-universal electrification across much of Southeast Asia, many households and essential public services continue to face unreliable or unaffordable electricity. A report by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the NewClimate Institute, published under the project “Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia” (CASE), titled Powering Wellbeing: Rethinking Electricity Planning Beyond GDP […]
The Strait of Hormuz has long been recognised as a critical node in global energy supply chain. As a key transit route for a substantial share of the world’s seaborne oil trade, traders modelled the risk, navies prepared for it, and governments war-gamed the scenario. But most investors still treated a prolonged disruption as a low-probability event. Two months into the US-Israel war with Iran, that assumption […]
The project Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) in Thailand joined the Health Station Talk (สถานีกลางสุขภาวะ) programme held by the National Health Commission Office (NHCO) for a podcast series exploring practical, people-centred perspectives on solar energy. The series was structured into three sessions: installation, use and maintenance, and end-of-life. The podcast series […]
What do the recent Middle East tensions have to do with your electricity bill in Thailand? The answer… may be more than you think. Thailand currently relies on natural gas for 58.19% of its electricity generation.1 Beyond domestic sources in the Gulf of Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar, the country also imports Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from abroad, including Qatar and the United States, accounting for over 35% of all natural gas used […]
The unfolding global energy shock The escalating conflict in the Middle East has rattled global energy markets, disrupting supply chains and sending prices soaring. The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, has effectively been rendered impassable for many commercial vessels amid threats and attacks. As a result, a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows has been affected, pushing […]
Southeast Asia remains highly exposed to global energy shocks. Recent volatility in global oil and gas markets has highlighted the continued exposure of Southeast Asian economies to external energy shocks. Although some countries in the region produce fossil fuels domestically, most remain net importers and are therefore sensitive to disruptions in international supply and fluctuations in global prices. The Strait […]
When the Middle East conflict intensified on 28 February 2026, the subsequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on 4 March sent immediate shockwaves through the global energy market. For the CASE countries—Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam—this represented an existential threat, as one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies normally pass through this chokepoint […]
Energy Security Returns — A System Under Strain “US–Israel war in Iran is the greatest threat to global energy security in history,” the International Energy Agency has warned. Three weeks into the conflict, that assessment is no longer rhetorical but observable in markets, flows and policy responses across the world.1 Energy security has returned to the centre of the global […]
