Phuket finally gets power boost

PHUKET: New high-capacity power cables installed by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to upgrade the island’s power supply are now hooked up to the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) grid and are supplying power, Banlue Teeramethawit, EGAT’s Assistant Governor of Transmission Construction, announced yesterday. The cables, costing 500 million baht, stretch 77 kilometers from the nearest main substation in Phang Nga to Phuket’s two substations, one on Chao Fa West Rd and the other on Thepkrasattri Rd. K. Banlue explained that the new cables were installed to cope with rising demand, created by the island’s increasing population and expanding tourism industry. “The new power lines will provide a more reliable electricity supply,” K. Banlue said. He explained that Phuket’s power consumption last year was the third-highest in the South, behind only Songkhla and Nakhon Sri Thammarat provinces. He also said the new cables would easily cope with Phuket’s future needs, which EGAT expects to increase by 30% over the next five years. The power upgrade project, which includes new PEA cabling all over the island, is on target for completion by the end of this year. It has entered its final stage with the installation of a computerized power management system that will show technicians where in the power grid problems arise, and allow them to reroute power to solve the problems.