Phuket power down starts tonight

PHUKET: The reduction of power usage throughout Southern Thailand provinces, including Phuket, is urged between 6:30pm and 10:30pm from today until July 10.

“We would like everyone to conserve power during peak usage hours,” said Phuket Energy Chief Wiroj Damkong.

However, the Phuket Energy Office and Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut have both confirmed that there will be no enforced blackouts or power rationing in Phuket (story here).

The power reduction scheme is suggested as natural gas supplies from field A-18 in the Joint Development Area (JDA) between Thailand and Malaysia in the Gulf of Thailand will be disrupted while upgrades are underway (story here).

A trial period from June 7 to June 12 revealed that the 14 southern provinces could cut power consumption by about 2 per cent, Mr Wiroj said.

“Our backup plan is to enforce blackouts in more rural areas if, for example, there is not enough power for more heavily-populated provinces such as Phuket,” said Mr Wiroj.

— Saran Mitrarat