US conglomerate General Electric will help Cambodia improve its power grid, according to a statement issued yesterday by the US Embassy.

GE and Electricité du Cambodge (EdC) will on Thursday sign an agreement that will see the US firm take a research and advisory role in improving Cambodia’s power grid, the statement says.

“Through this contract, GE will provide electricity grid maintenance services to EdC and conduct a study of Cambodia’s electricity grid to identify ways that the grid can be improved,” the statement reads.

US Ambassador William Todd will oversee the signing between GE energy consulting managing director Ravi Segal and EdC director Keo Rattanak.

GE has about 300,000 employees across 170 countries and posted nearly $150 billion in revenue last year. The company established a footing in Cambodia in 2007 with a health care business and is currently launching a biofuel business.

In September, John Rice, vice chairman of GE and president and CEO of GE Global Growth and Operations told the Post that Cambodia was lacking in biofuel sources and power distribution infrastructure.

“There are two things; biofuels and the second is distributor power, so smaller power block sizes that can be used to get to people who today don’t have power transmission and distribution infrastructure,” Rice said. “Many of the people in the country don’t have that infrastructure, like the wires, so you look to solve that problem on top of the power generation.”