ID :
312695
Sat, 01/04/2014 - 13:08
Auther :

Measures prepared to ensure sufficient energy during anti-government protests

BANGKOK, January 4 (TNA) - Senior officials of the Ministry of Energy and other concerned government agencies will hold a meeting on January 6 on ways to ensure sufficient energy for public consumption, in response to anti-government protesters' announcement to “shut down” Bangkok as their intensified pressure for Caretaker Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her Cabinet's members to resign en masse, starting from January 13. Permanent Secretary for Energy Suthep Liumsirijarern told reporters that the concerned officials will also ask authorities of the government-run Centre of the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO) to provide protection for oil and gas transportation across the country, especially in areas under the imposition of the Internal Security Act (ISA) covering the whole capital and certain areas in its peripheral provinces. Suthep explained that the CAPO has forbidden energy transportation during the night time, while the Ministry of Transport has forbidden energy transportation during the day time; so, discussions are needed on how oil and gas transportation can be made. Suthep Thaugsuban, secretary-general of the anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), has threatened that his group would “shut down” Bangkok from January 13, 2014 in order to oust the caretaker government and to push for a domestic political reform prior to the new general election. The permanent secretary for energy said he has also informed the caretaker prime minister on impacts of the weakening Thai baht, namely rising costs of Thailand's imported oil and gas. The Thai currency closed at 32.97 baht a US dollar on Friday on the domestic currency market, while there are signs that the Thai baht could further weaken to 34 baht against the greenback if the domestic political situation worsened. (TNA)

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