All sectors are rushing to solve the energy crisis in Pai District, Mae Hong Son Province, caused by heavy rain, landslides, and fallen electric poles.
Mr. Prasert Sinsukprasert, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, revealed that he has been monitoring the energy situation in Mae Hong Son Province, which has been affected by heavy rains and landslides that have affected the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) power poles, causing the power to fall and disrupting electricity, as well as the problem of oil trucks of PTT Oil and Retail Public Company Limited (OR) and other camps being unable to transport oil as usual, which the Ministry and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) have been monitoring together to ensure that energy can be restored as soon as possible.
Mr. Sarawut Kaewtatip, Director-General of the Department of Energy Business, has followed up on OR’s drive to prevent oil shortages at pumps. OR reported that the pump in Pai District, Mae Hong Son Province had a reduced volume becau
se the route could not transport oil yesterday. In addition, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand requested to use 8,000 liters of oil at the pump to generate electricity to serve the public, causing the oil to run out faster than planned. Currently, oil transport trucks are traveling to deliver to the pump and will arrive at the pump at around 3:00 p.m. today. They must go to pick up oil at the Lampang depot because the Chiang Mai oil depot was affected by heavy flooding, making it impossible for the transport trucks to go in and pick up oil.
This is due to the continuous heavy rain that resulted in flash floods and landslides on October 4, 2024, affecting the electricity supply of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) in Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces as follows:
Main power transmission system: 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line (Mae Taeng – Mae Hong Son), 10 trees were broken.
Backup power transmission system: 22 kV power transmission line (Mae Chaem – Mae Hong Son) Trees
fell on power lines at 4 points, unable to supply power normally.
Backup Power Transmission System: 22 kV Power Transmission Line (Mae Sariang District – Mueang Mae Hong Son District) Landslide occurred in Ban Huai Kha, Pha Bong Subdistrict, trees fell on the system, power lines were broken and pole tops supporting the power distribution were damaged
.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has supported PEA’s operation to help distribute electricity in Mae Hong Son. PEA, as the main agency responsible for maintaining the power system in Mae Hong Son Province, has ordered power generation sources in the area, including Mae Sanga Hydroelectric Power Plant, Mae Hong Son Diesel Power Plant, and EGAT’s Pha Bong Solar Power Plant, to produce electricity to support the electricity demand in Mueang Mae Hong Son District, as follows:
At 05.00 on October 4, 2024, Mae Hong Son Diesel Power Plant was operating at 3,600 kilowatts (kW) of electricity for about 10 minutes when a tree fell on the 22 kV
power transmission line of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), causing it to be unable to supply electricity to people’s homes. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand rushed to repair the power transmission line and completed it at 13.30.
At 1:50 p.m., EGAT began operating the Mae Hong Son 3,600 kW diesel power plant and supplied electricity from the Pha Bong solar power plant and 1,500 kW batteries to maintain the stability of the power system.
All relevant agencies are working together to get Mae Hong Son residents back to using electricity as soon as possible. PEA has mobilized a team to fix it (8 broken 115 kV transmission poles). Power has been restored to about 90% since 8:00 a.m. on October 5, 2024.
Source: Thai News Agency