Egat official defends plan to buy g

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

February 16, 1998


                                       



                                  ENERGY

              Egat official
              defends plan to
              buy gas

              Country's supply in gulf won't last long

              Uamdao Noikorn

              With a mere cost of no more than two baht per unit and low
              environmental impact, natural gas is the best energy choice for
              Thailand for now, said an Electricity Generating Authority of
              Thailand senior official.

              "The country's supply in the Gulf cannot last more than 10 years.
              Also our neighbours desperately need money to develop their
              countries, we just help them by buying the power they offer to
              sell," said Koomchoak Biyaem, Egat director of System Planning
              Division.

              He claimed most energy projects have some drawbacks except
              renewable energy including solar and wind power, adding
              conflicts between the state and the public sector and
              non-governmental agencies mainly arise from the government's
              failure to manage work the way it was written on paper.

              Speaking at the sidelines of a workshop seminar on energy and
              environment cooperation among Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia,
              Thailand and Canada, Mr Koomchoak believed it did not make
              a difference whether Thailand joined the Yadana gas pipeline
              project or not because many other countries are ready to buy the
              gas.

              Compared to other methods of electricity production, natural gas
              is the best. Coal makes too much pollution. Fossil fuel is
              becoming more expensive and warms up the atmosphere.
              Hydropower needs a large investment and large areas because
              only big dams can produce power, and orimulsion can only be
              found in Venezuela, he explained. 

              "We try not to build more dams although energy demand is
              rising. A campaign advocating a decrease in power consumption
              is a way. But that benefits users, not the government."

              Contrary to popular belief, machine-generating power should be
              used up to 80 percent of production capacity round the clock for
              high efficiency. Reduction in power consumption means
              government revenue will go down while investment cost remains
              the same.

              "When Egat invests in a project, it always considers an extreme
              scenario that sees the plant operate to maximum capacity. It
              doesn't make sense for Egat to ask people to use less electricity.
              It's also because our job is to find an energy source to feed
              demand," Mr Koomchoak pointed out.

              The director, however, admitted solar and wind power would
              likely replace all types of energy sources in the end. He expected
              solar power would be widely used within 10 years here. "For
              now, solar-powered electricity is about 10 baht a unit. But when
              the technology's cheaper, we'll certainly invest in it," he added.




                                       




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