Main power plant in Thai South resumes operation

SONGKHLA, THAILAND, July 8 (TNA) - The state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) reports that the Chana power plant in Songkhla Province, the country's main electricity generating facility in the southern region, has resumed its normal operation, thanks to an end of a gas disruption from the Gulf of Thailand earlier than scheduled. According to the EGAT's report, the Chana power plant has resumed its power generating service since 5.15am on July 8, after the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (JDA) started supplying natural gas to the facility again at 4am. PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), Thailand's largest petroleum firm, earlier announced that its JDA-A18 natural gas source in the Gulf of Thailand would temporarily suspend its gas supply to the Chana power plant for a maintenance from June 13-July 10, but the maintenance service was completed two days earlier than scheduled. EGAT said the 24 day-maintenance had caused the stoppage of the 700-megawatt Chana power plant, but people and business operators in the Thai South helped save their power consumption, which averted blackouts in the region. Power demand peak in the Thai South during the gas disruption period, thus, dropped from an earlier anticipated level of 2,450 megawatts to 2,315.8 megawatts. However, EGAT acknowledged, despite the power generating resumption at the Chana power plant, the southern Thai region continues to depend on partial power supply from the central region. (TNA)