Extra power to prevent blackouts

Ten tourist destinations will be provided with power reserves to handle demand and prevent blackouts during New Year celebrations, Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) governor Namchai Lorwattanatrakul said yesterday.
The PEA has prepared the power reserves for Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hat Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani, Chon Buri, Koh Samui and Koh Pa-ngan to prevent the kind of blackouts that hit Samui for three days early this month, Namchai said.
Namchai said the PEA would be able to supply power reserves to cities on land without much difficulty by providing two additional generators at two locations in each city.
As for Samui, which has only one power cable under water, it has to provide a mobile electricity generator of up to 10 megawatts fuelled by diesel.
For Samui to achieve power stability in the next 10 years, the Cabinet has approved investment to install one more power cable under water that can generate more than 100MW. The long-term plan is to construct a power plant on the island to prevent blackouts that adversely affect the image of the island, which is a world-class seaside resort.
Foreign tourists cut short their trips, leaving Samui and Pa-ngan islands during the three-day blackout, which officials estimated caused more than Bt10 billion in damage to Samui’s tourism.
Hotels and resort operators flocked to fuel stations to buy petrol or diesel for their generators, but the stations could not sell them fuel because they themselves were without power to run their pumps. The blackout was caused when a main underground power cable, the only power source of Samui, short-circuited.
The PEA is planning to spend 70 per cent of Bt120 billion from its investment plan for 2013-17 on promoting power-distribution stability to prevent blackouts and inadequate voltage in large cities, industrial zones and tourism-oriented communities, Namchai said.
The agency has an objective to reduce power failures at the current rate of one person experiencing blackout eight times per year, to not more than four times per year, which is the same standard as that of the Metropolitan Electricity Authority.
Former Samui mayor Ramnet Jaikwang earlier urged a government subsidy to tap the tourism potential of this world-famous destination that brings in Bt10 billion in revenue each year.
Although the Muang Samui municipality collects taxes from local businesses worth more than Bt500 million each year, it has only about Bt50 million left over – after deducting regular expenses – to spend on tourism-related projects such as road repairs, garbage collection, providing fresh water and flood prevention.