Electric Wires In Thailand

[Bates]

Ok guys (and girls),

I have been asking myself the same question over and over again...

Snice I have been visiting Thailand since 2001 now (5 times in the mean time) I have noticed the terrible bunch of electricity wires that are sometimes just a few inches of your head and in the reach of people.

Why are they still not underground? In Europe (Belgium actually) most of the wires are put underground where they can cause no harm to pedestrians and others..

Just asking myself why they don't act ..

[SEAtramp]

But then where would the birds sit.

[lopburi3]

This is not Belgium.

I think you will find may things different here. Many people cook with charcoal. Many do not have potable water supply.

It costs to put cable underground and when the ground is often below water level it makes it even harder to keep the system in operation. If you travel a few roads here you must notice all the digging that takes place. Just imagine what would happen if there were electric cables in that ground. Construction people are not big on making/getting/following plans so anything in the dig path becomes fair game. Nobody would have electric supply for more than a few days without interruption I fear.

[Thetyim]

Flooding is the answer.

You may have also noticed that internal wiring on the ground floor does not run along at skirting board height, but is dropped down from the ceiling.

[astral]

Don't worry, the bunches of wires are for the telephones.

The electricity wires are the big thick ones and are all plastic coated so you

will not get a shock!!

[mbkudu]

Next time you pull out of Hualampong railway station take a look at the wiring along the buildings alongside the tracks. Now that's spaghetti entangled in spider's webs with a dash of knitting thrown in. Never seen anything like it. It's all good fun.

[Tufty]

I was on walking street in pattaya last night and heard a crackling noise, when I looked up there was a cable arcing (blue sparks) at the point where it joins the pole.

I'm no electrician but to me it didn't look very safe and I was half expecting the cable to break and electricute somebody

[raybkk]

If you follow the news you might have seen that the government did set a budget to start of with a project that will put those cables underground.

In a year or 2 you will see a difference. Than you are finally able to see some of the beautifull buildings without all the wiring in front.

[cdnvic]

Don't worry, the bunches of wires are for the telephones.

The electricity wires are the big thick ones and are all plastic coated so you

will not get a shock!!

Never take this for granted though.....

cv

[tuky]

I live in a brand new moo bahn developement, infact our house isn't even fully finished yet. We have storm water, mains water all underground, but the power and telephone are above ground. It sure would be nice to have had it all buried, but I guess costs were prohibitive, perhaps even maintainence would have been too hard.

But even though it is ugly, and I am sure it will get worse one has to realise where it is we have decided to settle...TiT

[Head Snake]

I've lived in Huntington Beach, Long Beach, and Pismo Beach California before. Arcing, hissing, and zapping on the lines happened all the time particularly in foggy weather.

no worries.

[Humphrey Bear]

Don't worry, the bunches of wires are for the telephones.

The electricity wires are the big thick ones and are all plastic coated so you

will not get a shock!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Along the Bang Na / Trat Road there are many pedestrian bridges to allow one to cross the road. (Any other way is certain suicide). When on the stairs going up / down there are everal power cables within inches of the steel handrails of the footbridge. After a time the outer armour and insulation must be damaged by the frequent rubbing of these cables on the handrails.

And then - barbeque'd pedestrian!

But underground cabling is far more expensive than above-ground cables. Not just the direct-buried stuff, but that in ducts and conduits as well. Jointing of u/g cables is a specilised item. In a developing country there will always be replacement of services going on - and gas and electricity services are susceptible to damage (serious damage) more than, say, water / sewage lines.

Look through most of rural areas of Oz and the US and you'll see above-ground lines and trafo's on top of poles.it is far cheaper to install, cheaper to service. Looks horrible.

[pautai]

EXPENSE - it takes a lot of cash to dig out trenches and cable pits ,they can be waterproofed to deal with severe flooding but it takes cash and knowhow .#

some folks forget that thailand is a 3rd world country that never got around to doing these things . wheras in europe they have been doing it for decades.

catenary cabling is quick and cheap solution but probly not for fibre optic installations ..