Phuket urged to turn out the lights

PHUKET: Phuket is toeing the national line with the local electricity boss urging people to save power by turning off one light per house for five minutes every night.

Speaking yesterday – Electricity Saving Day – Amorn Saeng-Ngern, Manager of the Phuket Provincial Electricity Office, said that if the 100,000 electricity users on the island turned off one of their lights for just five minutes a day, the province would save more than 300,000 baht a year.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra launched the power-saving drive last night with a five-minute televised “lights out” campaign across the country, with an extrapolated saving of 600 million baht a year.

The PM also urged people in offices to turn off air conditioning during the lunch hour.

The lights-out drive is part of an effort to reduce the country’s oil import bills, which have soared in recent months following steep rises in international prices for crude oil.

K. Amorn added yesterday that, under Thai law, electricity is government property and that the Electricity Generating Authority of Phuket will clamp down on any illegal use.

He also warned against meter modification or electricity theft, both of which are criminal offenses.