Thai Talk: A Country With No Plan B For Major Undertakings

[webfact]

THAI TALK
A country with no plan b for major undertakings
Suthichai Yoon
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Energy Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal says the power blackout in all 14 southern provinces on May 21 was "unavoidable". He says the cause was a natural occurrence: lightning striking a high-voltage transmission line that supplied power to the South.

Then came the warning from energy officials that, because of the country's insufficient number of power plants, a similar breakdown of supply on a regional scale could hit the Northeast and even the capital, Bangkok.

These two official statements covering technical deficiency and the risk of natural accidents obviously don't answer the crucial question: Where was Plan B?

Even if we are ready to accept the official reasons cited for the country's worst power breakdown, there is still no guarantee that a repeat of the scary "total southern blackout" will not take place.

It's even more frightening when you suddenly realise that Thailand has always been in such a vulnerable situation. All the "what if" questions immediately surfaced. What if terrorists had detected this vulnerability in the country's energy supply system? What if lightning had struck in other parts of the country at the same time? What if a human error had added to the technical trip-up? What if the total blackout had taken place on an election evening?

Let's assume that we accept the explanations given so far by the government:

- Power produced in the South doesn't meet the local demand.

- The incident was not part of a conspiracy to stage incidents to support the policy of building coal-fired power plants.

- The blackout was unrelated to the energy minister's earlier warning of a possible widespread blackout because a natural-gas facility in Myanmar was temporarily closed.

- The blackout wouldn't have been so widespread had it not been for the fact that the system was running on automatic mode. Had the system been handled manually, the power failure would have been on a more limited scale.

Still, the main question remains: where was the contingency plan and where did the buck stop?

No heads have rolled so far. Accountability doesn't appear to be high on the agenda.

The national malaise reflected in the lack of a Plan B affects not only the energy sector, which this particular incident has underscored. It pervades the whole political and social spectrum. And that's the main reason why we have been stuck in the mud for so many years.

There is no contingency plan for a country caught in a political conflict that has plunged us into an abyss from which we have yet to emerge. We now hear calls for "going for broke" from the ruling politicians to ram through proposed constitutional changes and an amnesty bill that will only stir new controversies.

The ruling elite has a Plan A to get what it wants. We aren't sure what would happen if the "going-all-the-way" strategy backfires, triggering a "political blackout" that covers the whole country. In that case, it will be impossible to put the blame on a natural phenomenon such as lightning. There is no Plan B to avoid a potentially disastrous confrontation.

The government's controversial and highly expensive rice-price pledging scheme has been a glaring Plan A to "raise the living standards of poor farmers" - the government's main support base. Now, despite the fact that the plan has foundered and could incur huge losses for taxpayers, there is no contingency plan to beat a tactful retreat. There has never been a Plan B.

Before the next disaster strikes, be it natural, in energy, in politics - or even a superstitious issue - we badly need Plan Bs in place for every major endeavour in the country.

The risk of being unceremoniously hurled from Plan A to a chaotic Plan Z is simply too high to be acceptable.


-- The Nation 2013-05-30

[ramrod711]

Accountability doesn't appear to be high on the agenda.

What can you expect from a government that seems to have only one objective, to bring back a fugitive. One question I would like to have answered is, how are they going to power this high speed rail project? Will we all have to turn out the lights in our homes when it's running?

[Bellweather]

Does the country actually have a Plan A ?

[Robby nz]

What if terrorists had detected this vulnerability in the country's energy supply system?

If they didn't know before they certainly do now.

We also, on another subject, now have a budget with stated objectives but as yet no plan as to how they might be achieve, that might come in the next couple of days, but then again.

[dcutman]

Does the country actually have a Plan A ?

Finnish turning the country in to a dictatorship through a proxy puppet(s) and steal as much taxpayer money as possible. I believe that pretty much sums up plan "A", no need for a plan "B".

[MaxLee]

THAI TALK

A country with no plan b for major undertakings

Keep ripping off the poor and uninformed people until they rot...

TIT

[Bellweather]

Thailand is the world's biggest stage as they roll along with the theatrical maxim " it will be alright on the night ".

[Thaddeus]

Thailand is the world's biggest stage as they roll along with the theatrical maxim " it will be alright on the night ".

I ain't half hot Mum.

[livinthailandos]

Thai government has a real plan, what alternate universe am I living in

Sent from my using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ggold]

Does the country actually have a Plan A ?

Plan A is bring Thaksin back, the country is not important!

[kimamey]

Accountability doesn't appear to be high on the agenda.

What can you expect from a government that seems to have only one objective, to bring back a fugitive. One question I would like to have answered is, how are they going to power this high speed rail project? Will we all have to turn out the lights in our homes when it's running?

Get a grip for goodness sake. Of course not everyone will have to turn out their lights. Only those without a lot of money and influence.

[trainman34014]

Accountability doesn't appear to be high on the agenda.

What can you expect from a government that seems to have only one objective, to bring back a fugitive. One question I would like to have answered is, how are they going to power this high speed rail project? Will we all have to turn out the lights in our homes when it's running?

Don't worry about it; the nearest thing to it they will ever build is a model railway...and you can run that on batteries !

[NeverSure]

But if they don't build the high speed rail, there won't be graft to line pockets. This is unthinkable.

No wonder no one will loan them money for high speed rail. They can't manage a power grid or a 3rd world rice exporting business. They are high on the corruption ladder. Nothing gets done without lining pockets. The government is run to line the pockets of the government. Who do they think they are kidding?

They'll do something about the power grid only if there's something in it for them.

[rametindallas]

Accountability doesn't appear to be high on the agenda.

What can you expect from a government that seems to have only one objective, to bring back a fugitive. One question I would like to have answered is, how are they going to power this high speed rail project? Will we all have to turn out the lights in our homes when it's running?

Actually, this government has two objectives. The second is to get as rich as possible at the taxpayer's expense.