|
|
| • EXCH RATES |
|
Baht/$ 34.38/44 (Bid/Ask)
|
GOLD |
13650
-
|
|
ELECTRICITY
YUTHANA PRAIWAN
VIENTIANE : The Nam Ngum 2 hydropower plant in Laos may start operations four months earlier than scheduled in an attempt to earn more income to offset the unexpected rise in construction costs, said South East Asia Energy Co (SEAN), the project operator.
The overseas energy unit of Thailand's second-largest construction firm, SET-listed Ch. Karnchang Plc, has completed 65% of the 615-Megawatt power plant since work began in 2005.
It said the remaining work at the site would cost about 30% more than originally estimated.
The plant's operator and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), the power buyer, had agreed on a selling price years ago in a power purchasing agreement (PPA).
''That fixed price was definitely unable to cover spiking costs, as we calculated at that time based on steel prices at 18 baht per kilogramme and diesel at 18 baht per litre, but steel is now at 23.50 baht and there is no need to discuss diesel,'' said Egat governor Sombat Santijaree.
''We are trying to make it fair for all parties, though some pacts can be reviewed to reflect actual rising costs and some just cannot.''
Egat allowed some project operators to revise their power prices earlier, but because the 31.6-billion-baht Nam Ngum 2 had already secured financing from Krung Thai Bank, TMB Bank and Siam City Bank, it is too late to review its PPA.
In an attempt to generate additional income to offset those rising costs, SEAN has been accelerating the project's construction and expects to start operations in August 2010, four months earlier than planned.
Egat has agreed to buy output generated as soon as the project is complete, Mr Sombat said.
He said power policy planners were revising the 15-year power development plan (PDP) to match the delay of new hydropower plants in Laos and the country's power demand, expected to drop in line with the economy.
The projects where construction has been delayed for one year include the hydropower plants Nam Ngiep, Nam Ngum 3, Nam Theun 1, Nam Ou and the coal-fired Hongsa Lignite plant, with a combined output of 2,336 MW.
The existing PDP is based on economic growth and power demand projections of 5% to 5.5% per year. Demand dropped 0.08% in the peak summer season ending in May, but a year earlier it rose 7.23%.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Next
