Southern Thailand Power Blackout Jeopardises Investor Sentiment

[webfact]

Southern power blackout jeopardises investor sentiment
By English News



BANGKOK, May 22 – Last night's massive power blackout in Thailand’s 14 southern provinces has shaken foreign investor confidence in the country, industrialists said today.

They called on the government to urgently find a long-term solution and give priority to electrical power development including the use of renewable energy to avoid a recurrence of the disaster.

Pira Petchpanich, Federation of Southern Industries president, said a preliminary survey was conducted to determine total damage from the power outage, which could be less than Bt10 billion.

It took place after office hours but a number of industries including rubber wood processing, palm oil production and frozen food products were in operations and their power reserves were minimal, he said.

He urged the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to urgently boost the stability of the country’s power system.

Pongsak Assakul, Thai Chamber of Commerce chairman, said the electricity disaster could affect foreign investors’ confidence as the South is Thailand’s significant tourism region.

“Thailand has been too dependent on electricity from neighbouring countries. The government should emphasise renewable energy development,” he said.

Somporn Siriporananond, Songkhla Chamber of Commerce president, said the power outage which lasted over three hours in some provinces affected retail businesses while the tourism industry was only slightly hurt as most hotels are equipped with power back-up.

Hat Yai Hospital postponed two surgeries due to insufficient electricity, he said, adding that the damages at some major factories such as seafood processing and latex plants were quite severe.

Damages from the blackout to Songkhla industries could be as high as Bt500 million, he said.

Krisana Iemwongnatee, Federation of Ranong Industries president, said the frozen food industry in the province was hardest hit by the outage.

He said the EGAT should have a power back-up system to avoid the risk of total blackout.

The historic blackout was caused by a transmission cable failure in Prachuap Khiri Khan province which cut off power supply from the Central region to the South. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2013-05-22

[chainarong]

Damage was due to transmission cable: Well , hate to tell you this Mr Pira Petchpanich, but unless you run these cables underground you will have this problem from time to time, you generally do in the so called western world ,I would like to see your reactions to the cost of going underground , I agree ,you should have alternative power routing, that is a normal procedure, how long was the power was out , as it can be out for three or more day's in Perth Western Australia if a bad storm comes in , as for investor confidence , it's doubtful one storm power outage will do much to dint it , knee jerk 5 mins of fame reaction.

[Thai at Heart]

Krisana Iemwongnatee, Federation of Ranong Industries president, said the frozen food industry in the province was hardest hit by the outage.

He said the EGAT should have a power back-up system to avoid the risk of total blackout.

Like sufficient power stations or something like that? Look, we saw the figures from the shut down in Myanmar gas. They don't have much spare capacity at all. Throw in a rampant construction industry just for domestic accommodation, all pulling with new air conditioners at night and it's obvious they desperately need more power.

[GentlemanJim]

So within 12 hours of a power cut this guy determines that the confidence of foreign investors has been shaken !! Absolute BS! He obviously owns a large chunk of land he wants to build a Government wind farm on.

[Payboy]

Hat Yai Hospital postponed two surgeries due to insufficient electricity, he said

Not to worry, never too late for a lobotomy.

[slapout]

A candle on the table, something to snack on and a good drink or two and the Hat Yai hospital could be delivering a bumper crop of curtain climbers in due time. Just too many who equate every thing in a negative light, or lack thereof.in this case

[webfact]

Southern blackout causes severe economic impact

BANGKOK, 22 May 2013 (NNT) - Industry experts in the South weighed in on the economic impact of Tuesday Night’s wide-scale blackout, saying that a permanent solution must be put in place.

Songkhla Chamber of Commerce president Somporn Siriporananont said the blackout caused around 500 million baht in damage and lost revenue. Major industries which include processed food sustained damage due to a sudden halt in production.

He added that long-term preventive measures need to be implemented as demand for power is expected to surge in line with further economic expansion during the formation of ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

In Surat Thani, president of Koh Phangan’s tourism office Wannee Thaipanich pointed out that the power outage is set to erode investor confidence in the southern region, where a number of major tourist attractions are located. She noted that visitors and locals were affected by the incident as there was insufficient amount of back-up power.

She expressed her concerns over the island’s famous full-moon parties scheduled to be held during May 25-26, which generally attract around 20,000 tourists. Severe economic impact will likely occur if the island has to suffer another widespread outage.


-- NNT 2013-05-22

[Tatsujin]

Please, please, please . . . don't go down the "nuclear" road if they need more power generating. THAT would shake investor confidence for sure.

[webfact]

Energy Ministry to investigate southern blackouts
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Ministry of Energy will study Tuesday evening's blackouts in all 14 southern provinces so that the findings will be served as a lesson for the future, Energy Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the government did not want to see such a widespread power outage in the South again.

"I was shocked to learn about [the blackouts]. This never happened before. We do not want to see such an outage in the entire southern region again because there are adverse impacts to tourism and the local residents," Yingluck said before leaving for Japan.


-- The Nation 2013-05-22

[webfact]

South needs more power plants: Egat
Watcharapong Thongrung
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- More power plants are needed in the South to prevent blackouts like the one that hit the region on Tuesday night, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) said Wednesday.

Egat Governor Sutas Patamasiriwat said the existing three plants in the South were only able to supply 1,600 megawatts of power, while the region consumes about 2,200MW.

Hence, he said, Egat had no choice but to go ahead with the coal-fired plant in Krabi and plan for more.

On Tuesday night, 14 provinces in the South were plunged in darkness for up to four hours.

Sutas said the blackout was an accident and had not been staged to justify the Krabi project.

The three existing plants - Khanom power plant in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Chana power plant in Songkhla and a hydro-power plant in Surat Thani - are only able to generate 1,600MW. The remaining 600MW needed for the region is supplied by the central power system.

The governor explained that the consumption of electricity in the South - where several tourist destinations are located - had been rising at the rate of 6 per cent a year.

In addition to the coal-fired plant in Krabi, Egat is also building the Chana 2 plant in Songkhla, which should be ready to supply 800MW by 2014.

He said the Khanom plant, which is capable of generating 824MW, will be decommissioned in 2016 and that the concessionaire Egco Group has been tasked with building a replacement that is capable of generating 900MW.

The Krabi plant, which is currently the subject of public hearings, will produce 800MW and be ready to supply electricity in 2019.

He added that despite the protests, Egat had no choice but to opt for this coal-powered project because the only other alternative would be nuclear power.

Sutas went on to explain that there was only enough natural gas to feed the Khanom and Chana power plants and that it would not be financially feasible to build wind, solar or bio-mass gas-powered plants. He added that Malaysia could only supply 300MW of power and it cost as much as building a diesel-fuelled power plant would.

"Egat has no choice but to go ahead with the Krabi plant as scheduled," Sutas reiterated.

Tanit Sorat, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said the blackout caused damages worth more than Bt10 billion.

Pongsak Assakul, senior chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the outages affected the confidence of foreign investors because tourism is the key industry in the South.


-- The Nation 2013-05-22

[JetsetBkk]

It took place after office hours but a number of industries including ...

Screw the industries! What about the people?

[Scott]

My father worked for a power company all of his adult life and I used to accompany him on power outages (the company required two people to be along in case one was injured. Often there was nothing to do, but if there was an accident, you could call on the two-way radio).

I am a little familiar with everything that can go wrong with the power supply, but I have never heard of a transmission cable failure. What is it? Did it break?

I enjoyed this statement: "The Ministry of Energy will study Tuesday evening's blackouts". I hope they do it during the day. May not have any lights at night.

[chooka]

Hat Yai Hospital postponed two surgeries due to insufficient electricity, he said

Not to worry, never too late for a lobotomy.

Don't hospitals have thier own genrators so that they can operate as normal in a blackout?

[Scott]

Most hospitals have generators, but that doesn't insure they can operate normally.

[Suffinator]

Why anyone would put money into a business here that they can't legal own it beyond me. It's like buying a house on which land you can't own. Why would anyone be so stupid?