Egat's Khanom power plant in Nakhon Sri Thammarat. (Photo: VNA)
Bangkok (VNA) - TheState-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) is planning toreduce the power generation capacity reserve to 15 percent from 40 percent oftotal capacity, in a move to curb high power costs.
Decommissioning some power plantsearly, selling electricity to neighbouring countries and using more electricityin agribusiness will be carried out to allow for reductions.
Local media quoted Egat's Governor ViboonRerksirathai as saying that without these actions, the national power reservewould rise above 40 percent because of lower electricity demand during theeconomic recession. The more energy is stored in thegrid, the more expensive power becomes for users.
The 2018 power development plan (PDP)projects that future electricity demand to grow by between 3-5 percent over thenext decade, but the outbreak of COVID-19, which has led to lockdown measuresworldwide, has made that estimate untenable.
Viboon did not name which plants aretargeted for early decommissioning, saying the decision will depend onselection criteria and discussions with operators.
Without early decommissions, thecountry's power generation capacity will rise from 51,390MW to 54,026MW in2025.
Another option to reduce electricityreserves is sales to Myanmar and Cambodia, said Viboon. This requires upgradingtransmission lines, but it would be worth the investment, he said.
The power surplus can also be usedfor chilling fruit and vegetables to prolong their shelf life before sale, headded.
The Thai economy has suffered sharp fallin the second quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Economic and Social Development Councilannounced on August 17 that the country’s GDP dropped by 12.2 percent from ayear ago – the biggest decline since the Asian financial crisis in 1998. Thesecond-quarter unemployment rate was at 1.95 percent, and an additional 1.8million workers may be at risk of losing their jobs./.
