Minister: Don’t worry about energy supply while working from home

Energy Minister Sonthirat Sonthijirawong reassured the public on Saturday that even though many are now working from home to promote social distancing and stem the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, his ministry will ensure an adequate electricity supply.

“I have ordered all related agencies, especially the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, to monitor power usage closely and evaluate the situation on a daily basis as people tend to use more electricity during the peak of the hot season (March-April).

“There should be enough power for everyone despite the government’s recommendation to work from home, as we have increased generating capacity by over 30% at power plants nationwide.”

Sonthirat says that although power consumption will shoot up among residential users, usage among businesses will fall, as many businesses venues such as department stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues, schools and universities, have been ordered shut down until April 30.

“Plus, companies that let their employees work from home will save on power bill too.”

Sonthirat says that in the first three weeks of March, oil consumption in Thailand fell by 8% compared to February.

“The trend should continue to go down as the government has postponed the Songkran holidays, which usually cause oil consumption to spike in April We estimate that oil consumption in 2020 could shrink by 20%.”

A spokesman says the Ministry of Energy will still prepare for increased power usage in the coming months, by postponing maintenance of power plants to make sure they can all run at full capacity when necessary.

SOURCE: The Nation