Private sector produces 2,400MW of electricity

BANGKOK, Aug 28 (TNA) -- The Thai private sector is generating 2,400 megawatts of electricity for their own consumption and thus shifts the peak electricity demand period from day to night. Weerapol Chirapraditkul, spokesman of the Energy Regulatory Commission, said Isolated Power Supply (IPS) was rising because investment was increasing in efforts to reduce electricity expenses. The investment focuses on solar farms and solar rooftops. Recently, Mr Weerapol said, Siam Cement Group reported that it would develop a solar farm to generate 75 megawatts of electricity for its own consumption because cheaper solar panels made the investment worth. “IPS increases to as much as 2,400 megawatts because it covers many factories such as tapioca starch, seasoning and sugar factories,” Mr Weerapol said. He also said that IPS shifted the period of peak electricity demand from day to night and made it more difficult to predict electricity demand and plan future power generation. He encouraged IPS parties to stabilize their power production and plans. (TNA)