Regime pledges to restore full electricity supply to Manaung this fiscal year

By Admin 03 Jun 2026

DMG Newsroom

3 June 2026, Manaung

The military regime has pledged to repair the power plant supplying electricity to Manaung Town in Arakan State in an effort to restore power access.

Junta-appointed Deputy Minister for Electricity and Energy U Kyaw Thein told a Lower House parliamentary session on 2 June that work would be carried out during the 2026-2027 fiscal year to provide full electricity access to urban wards and some villages in Manaung Township.

“To fully operate and distribute power using solar energy, batteries and diesel generators, the replacement of the remaining batteries under the second phase of the project will be carried out during the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Regular electricity distribution in Manaung Town can only resume after these battery replacement works are completed,” he said.

The junta deputy minister was responding to a parliamentary question raised by Lower House lawmaker U Kyaw Than, who represents Manaung Township constituency, regarding full electricity access for wards and villages in the township.

A solar power plant was built in Khaohnmaw Village in 2019 to provide 24-hour electricity to Manaung Township. Electricity was distributed to five urban wards and four villages.

However, those wards and villages are currently divided into two zones, with electricity supplied on a rotating basis for one hour and 15 minutes during the day and one hour and 30 minutes in the evening.

Due to machinery failures at the solar power plant in Khaohnmaw Village since 2022, electricity distribution was suspended for a period before limited service resumed in 2023.

A Manaung native currently living in Yangon said the electricity currently supplied in the township is only sufficient for basic phone charging.

“The electricity supply in Manaung is less than three hours a day. Even then, it has to be divided into two shifts. Sometimes it is cut off completely. You can't do much with only about an hour of electricity at a time. It's only enough to charge phones. Most people have to rely on their own solar panels,” he said.

As Manaung is an island township, it is the only township in Arakan State that has not experienced direct impacts from the latest fighting.

The regime continues to maintain full control of Manaung Township, though the flow of commodities remains restricted.

According to General Administration Department (GAD) figures, Manaung Township comprises five urban wards, 36 village tracts and 138 villages, with a population of more than 60,000.