Energy Minister Narongchai Akrasanee on Wednesday guaranteed that the country will have sufficient supplies of electricity during Myanmar’s annual gas-field maintenance in April, but PTT has proposed a 200-billion-baht plan to end the yearly worries.
Mr Narongchai said he ordered the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and PTT Plc to maintain power plants, transmission systems and gas-production wells while refraining from repairs and maximising fuel reserves during Myanmar's work, which will cause daily gas supplies to Thailand to drop by a quarter.
Natural gas powers many of the country's power plants.
"The Energy Ministry assures that there will not be any impact on electricity generation to serve people," he said.
Natural-gas supplies from three fields in Myanmar will be suspended, cutting reduce daily supplies to Thailand by 1,530 million cubic feet. Facilities at the Yadana and Yetagun gas fields will be closed from April 10-19 and at the Zawtika field from April 20-27.
The disruptions will occur during the peak of the hot season when electricity usage is at its greatest.
The energy minister based his electricity assurance on gas remaining in pipelines and the electrical capacity of power plants fired with oil, liquefied natural gas and coal.
Areepong Bhoocha-Oom, permanent secretary for energy, noted that the ministry is still asking people and businesses to reduce electricity consumption during the peak hours of 1-9pm from April 10-19 to minimise the expense of generating electricity by burning oil.
Permanent solution
Meanwhile, PTT president and chief executive officer Pailin Chuchottaworn said Wednesday that his company has proposed a five-year, 200-billion-baht plan to the Energy Policy and Planning Office to end concerns about the yearly gas-field shutdowns.
The plan set for implementation from 2016-2020 calls for construction of a fifth gas pipeline linking eastern and western pipes to redistribute gas from either region to better combat supply problems. It also includes a new LNG storage facility with a 500-tonne capacity and two LNG vessels.
"The Energy Policy and Planning Office is considering the plan that will be proposed to the National Energy Policy Council for approval this May. The plan will efficiently solve the security problem with the gas system and there will not be any more concern about gas-supply disruption," Mr Pailin said.