Southeast Asian grid strain.
prob 0.42
severity 3.0 / 5 · revision 2026-05-06watch · 11 Southeast Asian economies · power + manufacturing$ shortage country get LAO > stress_index: 0.50 WATCH > 1 events · 1 scenarios > refreshed 2026-05-17
BRENT $72.13/b ● TTF €44.25/MWh ● OPEC_ORB n/a SPR_US 331.2 Mb ▼ FAO_FFPI 130.8 ▼
The v3.2 stress index is a six-axis composite of energy and food exposure, geopolitical pressure, fiscal headroom, demography and supply concentration, normalised to a 0–1 scale.
Laos styles itself the 'battery of Southeast Asia', exporting hydroelectricity from a cascade of Mekong dams, yet it imports every drop of liquid fuel. A severe debt crisis and a weak currency strain its ability to pay for those imports. Rice output gives a modest food surplus.
Laos is water-rich, but Mekong drought lowers its hydropower reservoirs in dry years.
| STOCK TYPE | RESERVE | DAYS COVER | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity · Mekong hydropowerA cascade of dams makes Laos a regional electricity exporter, though drought lowers output. | export surplus | — | STABLE |
| Oil · imported fuel stocksAll fuel is imported; a currency crisis repeatedly disrupts payment and supply. | very low | 15days | CRITICAL |
| Grain · rice surplusRice output broadly covers demand with a modest surplus. | moderate | 90days | STABLE |
$ curl -s https://api.shortage.life/v1/countries/LAO | jq '.stress' > 0.50