Samui Airport Opens Despite Blackout

[webfact]

TRAVEL

Samui Airport opens despite blackout

The Nation

Samui Airport remains open with normal operation from 6am-10pm, announced Bangkok Airways which is the airport operator.

The operator said in a statement that the blackout incident in Samui Island has no effect on flight operation in and out of Samui Airport. The airport is operating normally and handling around 36 flights per day for Bangkok Airways, Thai Airways, SilkAir (from Singapore) and FireFly (from Malaysia).

Bangkok Airways' flights to and from Samui Airport operates as normal.

The power blackout which affects Koh Samui and nearby island, Koh Pha-ngan, has continued for the third day, forcing tourists to flee the islands.

The Surat Thani authorities expected the repair would be completed in the afternoon today. The blackout was caused by the explosion of underground power wire.

On its website, the United Kingdom Embassy advised UK citizens not to travel to the islands due to the power blackout.

-- The Nation 2012-12-06

[Soupdragon]

On its website, the United Kingdom Embassy advised UK citizens not to travel to the islands due to the power blackout.

No they haven't. From their website.......

The islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan in southern Thailand have been without electricity since Tuesday 4 December due to damage to an underground high voltage cable supplying electricity from the mainland. The authorities are working restore the electricity supply as quickly as possible. In the meantime electricity is being provided for short periods by mobile generators. The airport and ferry services are operating normally. Please contact your tour company, your hotel/guesthouse or the local authorities for more information.

Edited December 6, 2012 by Soupdragon

[smokie36]

Don't let any of them escape!

[honzad]

What a difference wind or solar power plant on the island could make in cases like these...

Solar power doesn't generate enough to make a difference, and if wind power means miles of those hideous windmills ruining the skyline, no thanks.

[sezze]

What a difference wind or solar power plant on the island could make in cases like these...

Solar power doesn't generate enough to make a difference, and if wind power means miles of those hideous windmills ruining the skyline, no thanks.

Solar power can make a serious difference if enough people do it . Put every roof in solar panels and probably 50% of every home creates enough elec for it's own , while industries or hotels ( and aircon rooms ) need extra . Windmills are not ugly . They are very relaxing to look at from a distance , and when grouped together they only show up in 1 area ( for the people who think they are ugly ) . At 1 point in time ( sooner then you think ) everybody will have to make the choice . Nuclear energy i used to think it is the solution but over the years i certainly changed my mind ( i do work in a chem company ) . You cannot guarantee the safety . At least in a chem company , when you do have a fatal accident , the infected area is relatively small , and or cleaned up pretty easy . In case of a serious nuclear accident , and they will/do happen the infected area is large , and remains infected for generations to come . The nuclear waste itself is a not used energy source and is just put underground for the next 10000 years ( 10000 years is longer then recorded history , way before most civilisations could write ) . Send it to the moon , they have thought about it in the past but the idea was passed away because of safety issues when a launch fails . There are no easy solutoins to the energy question . Energy fusion is still many decades away , and the term of people who do work on it is only getting longer the longer they work on it .

[blundaman]

What a difference wind or solar power plant on the island could make in cases like these...

Solar power doesn't generate enough to make a difference, and if wind power means miles of those hideous windmills ruining the skyline, no thanks.

Solar power can make a serious difference if enough people do it . Put every roof in solar panels and probably 50% of every home creates enough elec for it's own , while industries or hotels ( and aircon rooms ) need extra . Windmills are not ugly . They are very relaxing to look at from a distance , and when grouped together they only show up in 1 area ( for the people who think they are ugly ) . At 1 point in time ( sooner then you think ) everybody will have to make the choice . Nuclear energy i used to think it is the solution but over the years i certainly changed my mind ( i do work in a chem company ) . You cannot guarantee the safety . At least in a chem company , when you do have a fatal accident , the infected area is relatively small , and or cleaned up pretty easy . In case of a serious nuclear accident , and they will/do happen the infected area is large , and remains infected for generations to come . The nuclear waste itself is a not used energy source and is just put underground for the next 10000 years ( 10000 years is longer then recorded history , way before most civilisations could write ) . Send it to the moon , they have thought about it in the past but the idea was passed away because of safety issues when a launch fails . There are no easy solutoins to the energy question . Energy fusion is still many decades away , and the term of people who do work on it is only getting longer the longer they work on it .

Wot Samui needs is a new, clear power generating facility, preferably wireless like Tesla had in mind cos the street wiring is devilishly discombobulated ..and it looks dam_n ugly too, absolute filth in your face

[smokie36]

Those windmills are ugly. No matter how you dress it up....they are unsightly....better than belching fossil fuels though.

[cheshiremusicman]

What a difference wind or solar power plant on the island could make in cases like these...

Solar power doesn't generate enough to make a difference, and if wind power means miles of those hideous windmills ruining the skyline, no thanks.

Solar power can make a serious difference if enough people do it . Put every roof in solar panels and probably 50% of every home creates enough elec for it's own , while industries or hotels ( and aircon rooms ) need extra . Windmills are not ugly . They are very relaxing to look at from a distance , and when grouped together they only show up in 1 area ( for the people who think they are ugly ) . At 1 point in time ( sooner then you think ) everybody will have to make the choice . Nuclear energy i used to think it is the solution but over the years i certainly changed my mind ( i do work in a chem company ) . You cannot guarantee the safety . At least in a chem company , when you do have a fatal accident , the infected area is relatively small , and or cleaned up pretty easy . In case of a serious nuclear accident , and they will/do happen the infected area is large , and remains infected for generations to come . The nuclear waste itself is a not used energy source and is just put underground for the next 10000 years ( 10000 years is longer then recorded history , way before most civilisations could write ) . Send it to the moon , they have thought about it in the past but the idea was passed away because of safety issues when a launch fails . There are no easy solutoins to the energy question . Energy fusion is still many decades away , and the term of people who do work on it is only getting longer the longer they work on it .

I take your points about the use of solar energy and the problems with 'Nuclear energy' and the inherent risks they raise, but I cannot agree with your statement that windmills aren't ugly! For god's sake, how can you say that they are "Very relaxing to look at" ? They are a blxxdy eyesore, no matter where they are located and in the main NOT a solution to the worlds energy problems. Unfortunately, I believe that we will have to go down the 'Nuclear' route like it or not.

[Gulfsailor]

What a difference wind or solar power plant on the island could make in cases like these...

Solar power doesn't generate enough to make a difference, and if wind power means miles of those hideous windmills ruining the skyline, no thanks.

Solar power can make a serious difference if enough people do it . Put every roof in solar panels and probably 50% of every home creates enough elec for it's own , while industries or hotels ( and aircon rooms ) need extra . Windmills are not ugly . They are very relaxing to look at from a distance , and when grouped together they only show up in 1 area ( for the people who think they are ugly ) . At 1 point in time ( sooner then you think ) everybody will have to make the choice . Nuclear energy i used to think it is the solution but over the years i certainly changed my mind ( i do work in a chem company ) . You cannot guarantee the safety . At least in a chem company , when you do have a fatal accident , the infected area is relatively small , and or cleaned up pretty easy . In case of a serious nuclear accident , and they will/do happen the infected area is large , and remains infected for generations to come . The nuclear waste itself is a not used energy source and is just put underground for the next 10000 years ( 10000 years is longer then recorded history , way before most civilisations could write ) . Send it to the moon , they have thought about it in the past but the idea was passed away because of safety issues when a launch fails . There are no easy solutoins to the energy question . Energy fusion is still many decades away , and the term of people who do work on it is only getting longer the longer they work on it .

Wot Samui needs is a new, clear power generating facility, preferably wireless like Tesla had in mind cos the street wiring is devilishly discombobulated ..and it looks dam_n ugly too, absolute filth in your face

The majority of the cable spaghetti you see is telephone wires, not electric.

Solar is not very efficient in hot countries (40% less than in a cool country). Plus a lot of the demand is at night, so you need something to store the energy. That means pumping water uphill at day and running it down at night, through a turbine. Land is too expensive here and mountains not very high or steep. That leaves you with a whole lot of batteries, which is expensive and very environmental unfriendly. All in all cost of electricity from solar would be at least 4x what it is now.

Wind turbines? Not a chance around Samui. Not enough wind. Only place in southern Thailand that would work would be in Ranong. And go for wind if you like to see all birds disappear. The big blades chop them up nicely.

Burning gas and oil centralised is actually pretty clean, and very economical. The only risk is in the failing of the distribution infrastructure, as we see now.

The only true economic and clean solution at current technological level would be a local plant extracting gas from garbage and using that. Not much chance of something novel like that happening, with so many interests at stake.

[stoli]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but after living near a HUGE winmill farm in California for 10 years, they are ugly when working, and for you environmentilists, they are killing birds every second. Even worse, once the tax credits dry up, the windmills are shut down. They are too ineffective on a cost basis for private industry to use without the government supporting it with your tax dollars. If you think the rice scheme is expensive, put a windmill farm on the islands! Also, these islands do not have the wind like the California & Nevada deserts are capable of producing.

[BusyBee123]

Samui airport to windfarms in 4 posts you can't make this up!

Does anyone have any information on whether there are currently queues at the airport to get off the island or have the media embellished the story.

ah just checked their website seems plenty of flights off the island available.

Edited December 6, 2012 by BusyBee123

[Boater]

What a difference wind or solar power plant on the island could make in cases like these...

Solar power doesn't generate enough to make a difference, and if wind power means miles of those hideous windmills ruining the skyline, no thanks.

Solar power can make a serious difference if enough people do it . Put every roof in solar panels and probably 50% of every home creates enough elec for it's own , while industries or hotels ( and aircon rooms ) need extra . Windmills are not ugly . They are very relaxing to look at from a distance , and when grouped together they only show up in 1 area ( for the people who think they are ugly ) . At 1 point in time ( sooner then you think ) everybody will have to make the choice . Nuclear energy i used to think it is the solution but over the years i certainly changed my mind ( i do work in a chem company ) . You cannot guarantee the safety . At least in a chem company , when you do have a fatal accident , the infected area is relatively small , and or cleaned up pretty easy . In case of a serious nuclear accident , and they will/do happen the infected area is large , and remains infected for generations to come . The nuclear waste itself is a not used energy source and is just put underground for the next 10000 years ( 10000 years is longer then recorded history , way before most civilisations could write ) . Send it to the moon , they have thought about it in the past but the idea was passed away because of safety issues when a launch fails . There are no easy solutoins to the energy question . Energy fusion is still many decades away , and the term of people who do work on it is only getting longer the longer they work on it .

All new build in the costa blanca needs to have solar panels .. The law should be on samui as well

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Gulfsailor]

What a difference wind or solar power plant on the island could make in cases like these...

Solar power doesn't generate enough to make a difference, and if wind power means miles of those hideous windmills ruining the skyline, no thanks.

Solar power can make a serious difference if enough people do it . Put every roof in solar panels and probably 50% of every home creates enough elec for it's own , while industries or hotels ( and aircon rooms ) need extra . Windmills are not ugly . They are very relaxing to look at from a distance , and when grouped together they only show up in 1 area ( for the people who think they are ugly ) . At 1 point in time ( sooner then you think ) everybody will have to make the choice . Nuclear energy i used to think it is the solution but over the years i certainly changed my mind ( i do work in a chem company ) . You cannot guarantee the safety . At least in a chem company , when you do have a fatal accident , the infected area is relatively small , and or cleaned up pretty easy . In case of a serious nuclear accident , and they will/do happen the infected area is large , and remains infected for generations to come . The nuclear waste itself is a not used energy source and is just put underground for the next 10000 years ( 10000 years is longer then recorded history , way before most civilisations could write ) . Send it to the moon , they have thought about it in the past but the idea was passed away because of safety issues when a launch fails . There are no easy solutoins to the energy question . Energy fusion is still many decades away , and the term of people who do work on it is only getting longer the longer they work on it .

All new build in the costa blanca needs to have solar panels .. The law should be on samui as well

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Until a number of MP's own a significant number of shares in a company manufacturing or importing said technology, no such law will be passed...

[limbos]

Are the election vans still doing the rounds as if nothing happened?

[John 1]

Are the election vans still doing the rounds as if nothing happened?

No they run out of fuel.

[zydeco]

If this were any other place but Thailand, I'd say we were going to hell'n'a'handbasket. Here, it's just SOP.

[PoodMaiDai]

What a difference wind or solar power plant on the island could make in cases like these...

Solar power doesn't generate enough to make a difference, and if wind power means miles of those hideous windmills ruining the skyline, no thanks.

Solar power can make a huge difference if everyone got on board. Of course that would take planning, and that isn't going to happen in this country, so we can scratch the idea. But anyone who is smart enough to use alternative energy would still have the lights on right now on that island, and more importantly, possibly still have guests and customers. A generator running on fuel doesn't cut it.

[PoodMaiDai]

Solar is not very efficient in hot countries (40% less than in a cool country). Plus a lot of the demand is at night, so you need something to store the energy. That means pumping water uphill at day and running it down at night, through a turbine. Land is too expensive here and mountains not very high or steep. That leaves you with a whole lot of batteries, which is expensive and very environmental unfriendly. All in all cost of electricity from solar would be at least 4x what it is now.

Or you can just sit in the dark when the power goes out for days on end.

Not sure if you've ever been through a long blackout or not (in any country), but any power is better than none. "Efficient power" isn't something that comes to mind when you don't have any at all.

[Gulfsailor]

Solar is not very efficient in hot countries (40% less than in a cool country). Plus a lot of the demand is at night, so you need something to store the energy. That means pumping water uphill at day and running it down at night, through a turbine. Land is too expensive here and mountains not very high or steep. That leaves you with a whole lot of batteries, which is expensive and very environmental unfriendly. All in all cost of electricity from solar would be at least 4x what it is now.

Or you can just sit in the dark when the power goes out for days on end.

Not sure if you've ever been through a long blackout or not (in any country), but any power is better than none. "Efficient power" isn't something that comes to mind when you don't have any at all.

No one is stopping you from spending a million Baht on putting solar panels on your own roof. But please do not force me to do the same... I choose to run a generator a few hours a day and the rest I spend in the dark.

[smotherb]

Solar is not very efficient in hot countries (40% less than in a cool country). Plus a lot of the demand is at night, so you need something to store the energy. That means pumping water uphill at day and running it down at night, through a turbine. Land is too expensive here and mountains not very high or steep. That leaves you with a whole lot of batteries, which is expensive and very environmental unfriendly. All in all cost of electricity from solar would be at least 4x what it is now.

Or you can just sit in the dark when the power goes out for days on end.

Not sure if you've ever been through a long blackout or not (in any country), but any power is better than none. "Efficient power" isn't something that comes to mind when you don't have any at all.

No one is stopping you from spending a million Baht on putting solar panels on your own roof. But please do not force me to do the same... I choose to run a generator a few hours a day and the rest I spend in the dark.

well, I might suggest you live somewhere the infrastructure is not so overtaxed

[Ciaran Tirconnell]

As a Samui resident I perhaps, should not be surprised by the events surrounding this fiasco, after all we live with regular blackouts on this island. Nearly 5 days ago there was a power cut to most of Samui. There is a mass of rumours about when the power would return, but surprisingly little from the power authority – PEA. Living in the North on the island we have had two hours and 20 minutes electricity over 5 days.

I have a generator but very few are available now for purchase. There are queues for fuel (mainly for generators at resorts I suspect), no Internet and sporadic telephone service, of course no water circulation pumps working and no borehole pumps operative, the main commercial centre of Chaweng is in a dull glow, a far cry from the brash lighting when power is available. There are areas that seem to have better coverage for power than us mortals; coincidently these areas are where many of the politicians live in Bophut area, no surprises there!!!

Today, Friday, some power has been returned, fed from mobile generator units brought in from the mainland, but in our case, only two phases are working, causing damage to many electrical motors.

The vast majority of income to Samui is derived from tourism; tourism is the creator of wealth and development and is dependent upon reputation. Yet as the politicians ride around the island in crawler speed pick-ups canvassing votes for the elections on 21^st December, little is being done to help the businesses that are the life blood of the island, just as we go into High Season. Shame on you Mr. Pu and Ms. Pau (the main candidates).

It is planned that a new undersea cable will be laid in March 2013 because the present cable is working at 110% of capacity, but the only people surprised by this failure seems to be the PEA. If they knew about this situation, why did they not plan to duplicate the cable capacity when it reached 80%? Total incompetence.

The least the citizens of Samui should expect is the resignation of the sitting Mayor, the head of Suratthani PEA and maybe even the Minister of Energy; compensation can be discussed at a later date.

It was announced today that the PEA has finally admitted its incompetence and has called in a company from Europe to fix the problem, five years too late in my opinion, the state grid and power generation/supply should in private hands anyway.

[millwall_fan]

As a Samui resident I perhaps, should not be surprised by the events surrounding this fiasco, after all we live with regular blackouts on this island. Nearly 5 days ago there was a power cut to most of Samui. There is a mass of rumours about when the power would return, but surprisingly little from the power authority – PEA. Living in the North on the island we have had two hours and 20 minutes electricity over 5 days.

I have a generator but very few are available now for purchase. There are queues for fuel (mainly for generators at resorts I suspect), no Internet and sporadic telephone service, of course no water circulation pumps working and no borehole pumps operative, the main commercial centre of Chaweng is in a dull glow, a far cry from the brash lighting when power is available. There are areas that seem to have better coverage for power than us mortals; coincidently these areas are where many of the politicians live in Bophut area, no surprises there!!!

Today, Friday, some power has been returned, fed from mobile generator units brought in from the mainland, but in our case, only two phases are working, causing damage to many electrical motors.

The vast majority of income to Samui is derived from tourism; tourism is the creator of wealth and development and is dependent upon reputation. Yet as the politicians ride around the island in crawler speed pick-ups canvassing votes for the elections on 21^st December, little is being done to help the businesses that are the life blood of the island, just as we go into High Season. Shame on you Mr. Pu and Ms. Pau (the main candidates).

It is planned that a new undersea cable will be laid in March 2013 because the present cable is working at 110% of capacity, but the only people surprised by this failure seems to be the PEA. If they knew about this situation, why did they not plan to duplicate the cable capacity when it reached 80%? Total incompetence.

The least the citizens of Samui should expect is the resignation of the sitting Mayor, the head of Suratthani PEA and maybe even the Minister of Energy; compensation can be discussed at a later date.

It was announced today that the PEA has finally admitted its incompetence and has called in a company from Europe to fix the problem, five years too late in my opinion, the state grid and power generation/supply should in private hands anyway.

Is there a word in the Thai language for 'compensation'?