Hydropower in Southeast Asia holds much promise. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), hydropower capacity in the region grew almost threefold from 16 GW to 44 GW between 2000 and 2016.The major users of hydropower technology are Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) members in the Indochinese region and the Philippines.

Cambodian premier Hun Sen on Monday opened the country's largest hydropower scheme, swatting aside dire warnings about the environmental impact of the US$780 million project and its effect on local communities.Backed by Chinese funding, the impoverished Southeast Asian nation has embarked on a dam-building spree in recent years, as it tries to boost its energy capacity and jump-start its economy.But the 400-megawatt Lower Sesan 2 is one of several dams criticised by environmentalists for

Originating in the Tibetan highlands and running through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam, the Mekong and its tributaries provide water, food and income for 60 million people. The longest river in Southeast Asia is home to the world’s largest inland fishery. It is estimated that 25 percent of the global freshwater catch is harvested from this river. Damming of the Mekong started in China in the early 1990s.

At the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Hanoi last month, Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister of Lao PDR acknowledged the recent devastation caused by a hydroelectric dam failure in his country and added that his government would proceed with caution with regards to future hydroelectric investments. Often touted as the “Battery of Southeast Asia,” Lao has 46 operating hydroelectric power plants and intends to almost double that number by 2020.

Last July, Lao witnessed a catastrophe when the Xe-Pian Xe Namnoy dam located on the Xe Kong River in the Bolaven plateau collapsed following heavy monsoon rains. More than 6,000 people were made homeless, hundreds went missing and reports say the official death toll has so far risen to 35.

In serving as the "Battery of Asia" to its power-hungry neighbours, Lao PDR is cramming dozens of dams onto its network of rivers. With 46 currently operating hydropower plants with a capacity of 6,400 megawatt (MW), and another 54 under construction and set to start operating by 2020, Lao PDR targets the generation of a whopping 28,000 MW of power in just two years.

Along with most Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia’s electricity consumption over the past decade has skyrocketed. In a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), electricity consumption in Cambodia has been growing rapidly, averaging 20 percent growth per annum since 2010. This rate continues to accelerate as average incomes in the nation rise on the whole.

Hundreds still remain unaccounted for in the thick mud and flood waters of Attapeu and Champasak, two provinces in southern Lao PDR where the failure of an auxiliary dam sent a torrent of water gushing down on 13 villages downstream. The result was utter devastation as whole villages were submerged in a sea of sludge leaving survivors to clamber onto available rooftops and tree branches.

Mountainous and landlocked Lao PDR, known as the "Battery of Asia", is building dozens of dams at breakneck speed so it can sell energy to power-hungry neighbours as a fast track out of poverty.But the communist country's ambitious power plans are highly controversial.

Hundreds are missing and an unknown number feared dead after a partly built hydropower dam in southeast Lao PDR collapsed after heavy rain and sent a wall of water surging through six villages, state media and contractors said Tuesday.Laos News Agency said the accident happened on Monday evening near the border with Cambodia, releasing five billion cubic metres of water - more than two million Olympic swimming pools.The agency said there were "several human lives claimed, and several hun