Fewer island blackouts predicted
PHUKET: The island’s residents are expected to suffer fewer electricity supply disruptions this year as power supply will be boosted to meet expected increases in demand, the head of the island’s electricity provider has reported.
Suthep Jitseree of the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) said the successful introduction of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) technology to the island’s power grid has reduced blackouts by isolating power disruptions before they can spread.
The SCADA technology, which uses automatic switches to isolate disruptions, was installed in 2005 at a cost of 386 million baht, he said.
Total power usage in 2006 was 1.138 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), up about 5% from 2005. Usage is expected to increase another 6% by the end of 2007, K. Suthep said.
The number of users on the Phuket power grid continues to rise, from 107,445 in 2005 to 113,800 in 2006, an increase of about 6%.
The figures include power usage on the Koh Yao islands, which, though in Phang Nga province, fall under the PPEA’s service area, K. Suthep noted.
The grid’s peak output was increased from 183 megawatts (MW) to 235MW during 2006, an increase of more than 28%. The large increase mostly reflected ongoing repairs to the grid carried out after the tsunami. Peak output is expected to be increased by a further 10% by the end of 2007.
The PPEA currently operates four substations in Phuket – in Patong, at Srisoonthorn in Thalang, on Chao Fa West Rd, and on Thepkrasattri Rd in Phuket City. They have a combined output capacity of 413 megavolt amperes (MVA), K. Suthep said.
The PPEA is seeking to increase total output capacity by 100MVA by the end of 2009 and is looking for land in Karon and Thalang to site two new substations, he said.
In the longer term, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), which manages the PPEA, has announced a plan to build three 230KV substations on the island, with construction scheduled to begin in 2010. The first of these will be built in Koh Kaew, just north of Phuket City.
