Electric Outages

[selftaopath]

Does anyone know the cause of electric outages in Isaan? The electric in our village seems to go outseveral times a week. Sometimes it goes of and on so quickly it seems likesomeone “flipped” a switch. I’mconcerned about how this impacts electrical devices more than theinconvenience. While living in BKK theelectric would go out; usually during a storm. Here it seems to go out with much less severeweather. Is this an Asian thing, a Thailand thing, or and Isaan thing?

Cheers

[afarang]

THey do indeed flip a switch. Every morning , in fact, they switch from base load or peak to day time or off-peak. Power goes off for about a second. Recommend a UPS for computers,Sometimes, It is long enough to crash your com. . But ,the power supply Has dramatically improved in the past few years. It used , in the rainy season or when ever there was an electrical storm, fail, sometimes for many hours.It is much better behaved ,now.

[kokesaat]

I think a lot depends on your individual village. In ours, several years ago, we had a transformer that popped at the first hint of rain. Power would be off for 5 or more hours, then back on until the next rain. Finally, the transformer was replaced and the problem solved.

You might have some luck with the electric authority if you can whip up a letter (in Thai of course) and have 20 or more of your neighbors sign it......in effect, asking for help. Thais are reluctant to do this sort of thing, but in our village, the squeaky wheel finally won.

[zzaa09]

Seems like the way it is.....I suspect it is countryside thing. Lived in rural situations in Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, Sisaket, and Surin for some 25 + years. All very similar. Electric is on and off, sporadically.

[Pib]

I experience that approx 1 second switch about every other day here in western Bangkok...usually in the early daylight morning hours. It may be happening every morning and I'm just missing it because I'm still asleep. Good reason to have power strips "with surge protection" for certain electronic equipment like TV, stereo, set-top box, modem, router, printer, computer, etc. At least a good surge protector will smooth out the millisecond spikes in voltage caused by the momentary power outage/switch. But I just plug the major appliances like the frig, washing machine, etc., directly into the wall....and of course my split air cons get hooked directly into the home electrical service also. Now, my in-laws who live in a village in Nakhon Pathom province which borders Bangkok experience outages all the time, sometimes lasting hours or occasionally a half a day...and they get brown-outs also. And when their power goes off, village water pressure goes to zero since it's based solely on electric pumps versus a storage tank tower. Welcome to the Thailand electrical supply. It's up and running fine the great, great majority of the time, but not all the time.

[zzaa09]

If it's a real concern, the OP might opt for a separate {independent} back-up system......many do.

[Pib]

If it's a real concern, the OP might opt for a separate {independent} back-up system......many do.

That sure would work for those periods when the power is off for extended times, at least to keep a few critical items running like the frig. But it don't help those momentary/brief periods of power outage....that is, the flipping of the switch somewhere by the electric company.

[Lickey]

5 years ago here in Namsom, during the wet season, the candle bill was more than the electric bill, but things are changing for the better, today was i rekon the start of the wet season, and the electric didnt go off, normally, the elec company flicks the switch, perhaps 15seconds, its like a warning, go get the candles!!, sure enough, 5 mins off it goes,

3 years ago, it was really bad, 2/3/4/5/ hours at a time, to overcome this problem, we hired a large ice-box, i mean, warm larger?? no thanks, so ive always got a suply of cold beer, most important,,, still have box now, at 25bht a day for ice refills, worth its weight in cold beer!!

When i first came to live here in October 5 years ago, Mrs said, it always gets hot when it rains, got me thinking?? then i found out, it rains, the power stops, the fans stop, hence yoyu get hotter,,

My prep for storms are 1 the ice box, 2 fully charged laptop battery with Usb aircard, 3, candles 4 , BBQ for hot food and my good woman, oh thankyou for power cuts!!

[bergen]

It happens here in South Ubon also, and seems to be more frequent in the start of the rainy season?

We have been without power for periods up to 12 hrs., but a good fridge/freezer will manage.

We often calls the el office to ask when the power will be back, but usually they don't know. They have replied 2 hrs and it's taken 10.

They've also replied that we've already got the power back - which we have not!

Not only do we experience outages, but the strength of the el power (current?) varies, as if the power is half on.

This have ruined fridges, tvs, amplifiers, and other el. devices over the years, and I now use several UPS to filter and minimize the problem.

[selftaopath]

THey do indeed flip a switch. Every morning , in fact, they switch from base load or peak to day time or off-peak. Power goes off for about a second. Recommend a UPS for computers,Sometimes, It is long enough to crash your com. . But ,the power supply Has dramatically improved in the past few years. It used , in the rainy season or when ever there was an electrical storm, fail, sometimes for many hours.It is much better behaved ,now.

WOW! Really? GEEZE. Excuse my ignorance please but why the need/desire to switch from "base load" etc? Sorry, being from USA I merely thought electric was electric .......?????

[selftaopath]

It happens here in South Ubon also, and seems to be more frequent in the start of the rainy season?

We have been without power for periods up to 12 hrs., but a good fridge/freezer will manage.

We often calls the el office to ask when the power will be back, but usually they don't know. They have replied 2 hrs and it's taken 10.

They've also replied that we've already got the power back - which we have not!

Not only do we experience outages, but the strength of the el power (current?) varies, as if the power is half on.

This have ruined fridges, tvs, amplifiers, and other el. devices over the years, and I now use several UPS to filter and minimize the problem.

Holy Crap!!!! I think your situation is more severe than what we are experiencing. Sorry to hear it. By UPS do you mean the surge protectors/extension cords? Cheers,

[afarang]

U.P.S.= Uninterrupted Power Supply . Gives you approx. 30 minutes of reserve power, so you can safely shut down your Computer,NOT having it crash , losing stuff!! I consider it an absolutely essential piece of equipment.If you live anywhere in the country, where the power supply is a bit dodgy.

[Thaddeus]

This happens when too many cleaning ladies want to do the hoovering at the same time.

As others have said, it is more than just annoying, the sudden surge of power when it comes back on is damaging to electrical equipment, if you can live without the TV and pad lom for a while, and refrain from opening the fridge door while the power is off, some good quality surge protectors are enough for them, for the computer, a UPS is a must.

Plus, buy a hammock if you don't already have one, and keep a good book handy.

[Pib]

I experience that approx 1 second switch about every other day here in western Bangkok...usually in the early daylight morning hours. It may be happening every morning and I'm just missing it because I'm still asleep. Good reason to have power strips "with surge protection" for certain electronic equipment like TV, stereo, set-top box, modem, router, printer, computer, etc. At least a good surge protector will smooth out the millisecond spikes in voltage caused by the momentary power outage/switch. But I just plug the major appliances like the frig, washing machine, etc., directly into the wall....and of course my split air cons get hooked directly into the home electrical service also. Now, my in-laws who live in a village in Nakhon Pathom province which borders Bangkok experience outages all the time, sometimes lasting hours or occasionally a half a day...and they get brown-outs also. And when their power goes off, village water pressure goes to zero since it's based solely on electric pumps versus a storage tank tower. Welcome to the Thailand electrical supply. It's up and running fine the great, great majority of the time, but not all the time.

As a supplement to my above post, I just remembered that during my first year here in western Bangkok (been here about 3 years now), it was not uncommon for the power in my moobaan to be knocked out for 30 minutes to a few hours during big rain & lightning storms. Normally some circuit breaker/fuse on one of the transformers/poles would blow from all the lightning/static electricity in the area. The electric company came in one day and put lightning rod type devices on most of the electric poles in the moobaan and the power outage problem during storms has not occurred since. You would think that since many poles already have a wire running to ground, the pole overall construction would act like a big lightning rod...but maybe that was the problem in that they attracted lightning strikes. But the devices they installed on each pole was like a group of short metal fingers pointing up in a dome shape....they would strap about a half dozen of these device on the top metal cross member on each pole...the cross member supporting the electric lines. Guess these grounded metal fingers somehow changed the static electrical characteristics of the pole and make the chance of a lightning bolt hitting a pole less. I don't know. I just know since the day they put these devices on the poles we don't lose power during small, medium, or big storms. Electric service/up-time is real close to 100%. Now, we only experience those brief half-a-second or maybe two seconds outages on some mornings as the electric company is flipping switches to adjust electric sources/loads around the city.

[zzaa09]

WOW! Really? GEEZE. Excuse my ignorance please but why the need/desire to switch from "base load" etc? Sorry, being from USA I merely thought electric was electric .......?????

You're an American....?? Would of never known.

Edited May 2, 2011 by zzaa09

[sinbin]

The writer of this web page must be having a laugh.

Thailand, being one of the most advanced countries in Asia, the quality and stability of electric power of the place is excellent. Like most cities in Thailand, the voltage output of Bangkok is 220 volts AC, alternating at 50 cycles per second, with almost non-existent brownouts and power cuts.

http://www.bangkoktravel.org.uk/travel-tips/voltage.html

[Pib]

The writer of this web page must be having a laugh.

Thailand, being one of the most advanced countries in Asia, the quality and stability of electric power of the place is excellent. Like most cities in Thailand, the voltage output of Bangkok is 220 volts AC, alternating at 50 cycles per second, with almost non-existent brownouts and power cuts.

http://www.bangkoktr...ps/voltage.html

I guess the writer's definition of "excellent" is a little on the low side. Of course he may be basing his "excellent" rating on a couple nights stay in a Bangkok five star hotel...or was too drunk to notice brief outages.

IMHO, Bangkok's electric service is indeed excellent "in comparison to many other places with Thailand." I just wish these very frequent one second outages/flipping of the switch somewhere didn't occur...as I know it's taking a toll on my electronic equipment. I guess it comes down to what a person considers excellent, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory service when compared to service elsewhere.

[afarang]

To our dear american friend. : Baseload refers to when Maximum power is being used by consumers. In most places in the world, that is between 05.00 and 09.00 hours.Or between 16.00 and 21.00 hours By then most people have gone to work.Or having finished cooking ,etc., in the evening and so are not consuming as much electricity. So, power generators do Not want to produce power at cost to them, that nobody is going to eat, that is going to waste. So they switch to other generators that do not produce so much power and do not cost as much to run, saving them money.So, you have peak and off-peak generating times.

[selftaopath]

To our dear american friend. : Baseload refers to when Maximum power is being used by consumers. In most places in the world, that is between 05.00 and 09.00 hours.Or between 16.00 and 21.00 hours By then most people have gone to work.Or having finished cooking ,etc., in the evening and so are not consuming as much electricity. So, power generators do Not want to produce power at cost to them, that nobody is going to eat, that is going to waste. So they switch to other generators that do not produce so much power and do not cost as much to run, saving them money.So, you have peak and off-peak generating times.

Thank you and thank you for contributing to TV. And I'd like to thank other TV members for pointing me toward the purchase of a UPS or 3 :-) Now when I go "to the big city" I'll start my hunt. I wish KK had a China Town like BKK - boy the prices down there are more attractive.

I guess I still wonder - maybe someone told me/us already but my CRS kicks in more these days - about the reason the electric goes out during less than severe weather????? Seems rather "unstable."

Thanks again

[Pib]

To our dear american friend. : Baseload refers to when Maximum power is being used by consumers. In most places in the world, that is between 05.00 and 09.00 hours.Or between 16.00 and 21.00 hours By then most people have gone to work.Or having finished cooking ,etc., in the evening and so are not consuming as much electricity. So, power generators do Not want to produce power at cost to them, that nobody is going to eat, that is going to waste. So they switch to other generators that do not produce so much power and do not cost as much to run, saving them money.So, you have peak and off-peak generating times.

Or another way to say it per: http://www.energyvor...oad_demand.html

baseload, base load, baseload demand: Most commonly referred to as baseload demand, this is the minimum amount of power that a utility or distribution company must make available to its customers, or the amount of power required to meet minimum demands based on reasonable expectations of customer requirements. Baseload values typically vary from hour to hour in most commercial and industrial areas.

[swissie]

U.P.S.= Uninterrupted Power Supply . Gives you approx. 30 minutes of reserve power, so you can safely shut down your Computer,NOT having it crash , losing stuff!! I consider it an absolutely essential piece of equipment.If you live anywhere in the country, where the power supply is a bit dodgy.

It sounds to me like U.P.S is some sort of back-up battery-system.

But strictly talking about a computer only = if using a laptop, as soon a power outage occurs, it would automatically switch over to batterie-modus and an U.P.S would not be necessary, right ?

Thanks & cheers.

[Thaddeus]

U.P.S.= Uninterrupted Power Supply . Gives you approx. 30 minutes of reserve power, so you can safely shut down your Computer,NOT having it crash , losing stuff!! I consider it an absolutely essential piece of equipment.If you live anywhere in the country, where the power supply is a bit dodgy.

It sounds to me like U.P.S is some sort of back-up battery-system.

But strictly talking about a computer only = if using a laptop, as soon a power outage occurs, it would automatically switch over to batterie-modus and an U.P.S would not be necessary, right ?

Thanks & cheers.

Correct, a laptop essentially has it's own UPS, as the power is fed to it from it's own battery. For a laptop you need surge protection only.

[afarang]

When we have a blackout , I unplug anything that is a heavy user of power , that is plugged in and runs frequently. My fridge and freezer, are ALWAYS unplugged. When the power eventually comes back on, I wait for 5 minutes for the initial surge to finish, then re-plug those unplugged appliances, one at a time, giving a few minutes grace between replugging each one. This will protect your appliances from surge burnout.

[zzaa09]

When we have a blackout , I unplug anything that is a heavy user of power , that is plugged in and runs frequently. My fridge and freezer, are ALWAYS unplugged. When the power eventually comes back on, I wait for 5 minutes for the initial surge to finish, then re-plug those unplugged appliances, one at a time, giving a few minutes grace between replugging each one. This will protect your appliances from surge burnout.

We've long made a common practice of unplugging electrical unit and appliances when not in use everyday, with the exception of the fridge/freezer unit. Good advice to suggest the unplugging of electrical appliances after {the frequent} power outages, as sometimes the surges can be destructive.

[Pib]

While blackouts are definitely no fun, brownouts can wreak havoc on your electrical/electronic equipment also. When the voltage drops to say 160-180V (or lower) many older devices/equipment will have a hard time dealing with that low voltage and can actually overwork/overheat themselves in "trying" to work with the lower voltage. While many modern days TVs, set-top boxes, stereos, DVD players, DC power adapters feeding other devices, etc., are now designed to operate within a 90 to 250V range without the need to set any voltage switch, many older devices are limited to proper operation to approx plus or minus 10% of 220V.

I know whenever the voltage drops to around 180V my Mitsubishi WP series water pump will just run and run after after a water tap is turn off, as the water pump is trying to re-pressurize its pressure tank but apparently can't get enough RPM to reach the pump cut-off pressure. So, in those rare cases now that I have a brownout, I will turn the pump off and just use the fantastic 8 to 10psi water pressure from the main line. I have a couple of split A/C's that also sound like they are straining to work when the voltage gets down to around 180V.

What I will do in a blackout or brownout is usually turn off all the circuit breakers, to include the main line voltage breaker, in the breaker box until the power comes back to normal. Fortunately, the breaker box is easy and fast to access. I installed a little analog voltage meter (reads up to 250V) on the side of the breaker box...the meter connects to the incoming power lines before the main breaker. When I think I'm having a brownout I will look at the voltage reading and depending on what the voltage level is and how stable the lower voltage is I will turn off certain or all devices...depends on whether I know if the devices are designed for line voltage operation from 90 to 250V, whether it's day or night (night I will leave some light circuits on). In some brownouts I watched the meter just vary/wander from well below 100V to up around 180V....when it's unstable like that I will just turn everything off.

This little analog meter only cost about 50 baht at an Amorn Electronic store in a Lotus mall and even has a voltage region color coding on the indicator needle face where it says 160 to 235V is the Green region, above 235 to 250 is the Red region, and below 160V is the Black region. Maybe the design engineer of the meter decided that's is ballpark voltage levels for a 220V system (i.e., too low, satisfactory, too high), but apparently he didn't know about my water pump and a couple of my A/Cs. When my voltage is operating normal, I'm in the 220-225V range according to this meter and a couple of hand held digital voltmeters that I have. This little analog meter I mounted on my box sure helps to quickly determine if we are having a brownout of I've just had too much Chang Beer. I've even been able make the wife understand the voltage levels (Black/Green/Red) and to start turning things off (like the water pump) it the voltage reading gets in the Black region when I'm not around.

But fortunately, I rarely have blackout or brownouts here in western Bangkok since they installed those lightning protector type devices on the electric poles a couple years ago. Now I only deal with the electric company flipping of the switch to re-balance electrical loads around my part of Bangkok. This happens today at around 2:30pm...power was off for about 2 seconds....usually the flip of the switch is less than a second.

Edited May 4, 2011 by Pib

[selftaopath]

When we have a blackout , I unplug anything that is a heavy user of power , that is plugged in and runs frequently. My fridge and freezer, are ALWAYS unplugged. When the power eventually comes back on, I wait for 5 minutes for the initial surge to finish, then re-plug those unplugged appliances, one at a time, giving a few minutes grace between replugging each one. This will protect your appliances from surge burnout.

Thanks; I'll start doing similar tactics - GEEZE, I guess I'm not in Kansas :-) LOL. When I first came to my wife's village here in Isaan she suggested turning TV etc off during a T storm. I thought "how ridiculous." Now experiencing the Thai electric system, I'm almost afraid for my stuff when there's numerous clouds or the wind starts to blow. LOLOLO

[afarang]

You cannot be too careful. I had internet by satellite. One time ,lightning struck the satellite dish, blew it to smitherens!! The bastard of a thing also blew up my monitor- had to buy a new one- couldn't be repaired!!!! It is true Thais are scared of lightning around Electricals. Many will turn off their T.V.s. Some even turn off their mobile phones. Be aware , Brownouts can do more damage than Blackouts.But it is a few years since we have had one. They have improved the reliability of the power supply system ,enormously. In the last few years. Prior to that , every electrical storm would see a Blackout. Were anything up to 10 or so hours duration. Much, much better now.

[selftaopath]

While blackouts are definitely no fun, brownouts can wreak havoc on your electrical/electronic equipment also. When the voltage drops to say 160-180V (or lower) many older devices/equipment will have a hard time dealing with that low voltage and can actually overwork/overheat themselves in "trying" to work with the lower voltage. While many modern days TVs, set-top boxes, stereos, DVD players, DC power adapters feeding other devices, etc., are now designed to operate within a 90 to 250V range without the need to set any voltage switch, many older devices are limited to proper operation to approx plus or minus 10% of 220V.

I know whenever the voltage drops to around 180V my Mitsubishi WP series water pump will just run and run after after a water tap is turn off, as the water pump is trying to re-pressurize its pressure tank but apparently can't get enough RPM to reach the pump cut-off pressure. So, in those rare cases now that I have a brownout, I will turn the pump off and just use the fantastic 8 to 10psi water pressure from the main line. I have a couple of split A/C's that also sound like they are straining to work when the voltage gets down to around 180V.

What I will do in a blackout or brownout is usually turn off all the circuit breakers, to include the main line voltage breaker, in the breaker box until the power comes back to normal. Fortunately, the breaker box is easy and fast to access. I installed a little analog voltage meter (reads up to 250V) on the side of the breaker box...the meter connects to the incoming power lines before the main breaker. When I think I'm having a brownout I will look at the voltage reading and depending on what the voltage level is and how stable the lower voltage is I will turn off certain or all devices...depends on whether I know if the devices are designed for line voltage operation from 90 to 250V, whether it's day or night (night I will leave some light circuits on). In some brownouts I watched the meter just vary/wander from well below 100V to up around 180V....when it's unstable like that I will just turn everything off.

This little analog meter only cost about 50 baht at an Amorn Electronic store in a Lotus mall and even has a voltage region color coding on the indicator needle face where it says 160 to 235V is the Green region, above 235 to 250 is the Red region, and below 160V is the Black region. Maybe the design engineer of the meter decided that's is ballpark voltage levels for a 220V system (i.e., too low, satisfactory, too high), but apparently he didn't know about my water pump and a couple of my A/Cs. When my voltage is operating normal, I'm in the 220-225V range according to this meter and a couple of hand held digital voltmeters that I have. This little analog meter I mounted on my box sure helps to quickly determine if we are having a brownout of I've just had too much Chang Beer. I've even been able make the wife understand the voltage levels (Black/Green/Red) and to start turning things off (like the water pump) it the voltage reading gets in the Black region when I'm not around.

But fortunately, I rarely have blackout or brownouts here in western Bangkok since they installed those lightning protector type devices on the electric poles a couple years ago. Now I only deal with the electric company flipping of the switch to re-balance electrical loads around my part of Bangkok. This happens today at around 2:30pm...power was off for about 2 seconds....usually the flip of the switch is less than a second.

WOW!!! Thanks Pib. I printed your suggestion, and will pursue what you mentioned. Being in "the sticks" does not allow me rapid access to ???? MUCH lol, but my trip to "the big city" will include this in my hunt. I'm still not accustomed to having fuses in a house. LOLO, but I bet my Father, and certainly my Grandfather would be.

Again I appreciate most TV members who practice genuine willingness to share experiences to other Xpats. I believe this is the real spirit of TV.

K

[Thaddeus]

Brownouts can do more damage than Blackouts.But it is a few years since we have had one.

Reminds me of a situation from years ago when I was living even more in the sticks than I am now.

Power went out suddenly and was out for several hours, I went to the fridge to get a can of something healthy and nutritious and the light came on when I opened the door, looking outside the very low wattage lights where glowing, but nothing else. I pointed this out to the then wife and asked her what was happening as there where no signs of light coming from any other house.

Her explanation was quite simple. I'm farang so have big power bills and always pay on time, so they were turning the power back on at our house first, but slowly.

[selftaopath]

Brownouts can do more damage than Blackouts.But it is a few years since we have had one.

Reminds me of a situation from years ago when I was living even more in the sticks than I am now.

Power went out suddenly and was out for several hours, I went to the fridge to get a can of something healthy and nutritious and the light came on when I opened the door, looking outside the very low wattage lights where glowing, but nothing else. I pointed this out to the then wife and asked her what was happening as there where no signs of light coming from any other house.

Her explanation was quite simple. I'm farang so have big power bills and always pay on time, so they were turning the power back on at our house first, but slowly.

LOL Great story. I can easily believe it and them. I think I have so much to learn here. But one thing is sure I doubt if I will ever fully understand the place.