Thailand: Activists file power plan petition

Thailand: Activists file power plan petition

A group of activists yesterday lodged a petition with the Administrative
Court against the energy minister and four state agencies for alleged abuse
of authority and poor judgement in handling the country's 2015 Power
Development Plan (PDP).

Led by Srisuwan Junya, president of the Stop Global Warming Association
(SGWA), the group of 21 members lodged the petition against the energy
minister, the Energy Policy and Planning Committee, the Energy Policy and
Planning Office, the Energy Regulatory Commission and the Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailand.

The alleged misconduct was deemed a violation of Section 9 (1) of the law on
the Administrative Court's establishment and the administrative case
procedure, according to the petition.

In the energy development plan for the period from 2015 until 2036, also
known as the PDP 2015, the percentage of energy recommended to be set aside
as reserves does not correspond with the forecast demand for energy, said
the petition.

Although the demand for energy was predicted to fall significantly, energy
reserves were maintained at the same level of 21% and 35% of the projected
total demand for energy, the petition stated.

This would clearly lead to energy reserves becoming far higher than needed
and possibly justify an attempt to move ahead with a plan to construct new
coal- and natural gas-fired power plants, said the petition.

The group urged that state agencies respond more rationally to decreased
demand for energy by cancelling the power plant plan -- for which no
agreement has been signed yet.

At the very least, the five parties should consider deferring unnecessary
energy supplies to a later date, the petition said.

The group also accused the five parties of rushing "unnecessary" supplies of
energy for the period from 2015 until 2026, a time when energy demand is
rather low, resulting in the need to boost energy reserves to 30-39%.

As a matter of fact, the demand for energy between 2015 and 2026 is expected
to drop by 5,000 megawatts, but the five parties had rushed supply of around
4,000 megawatts, said the activists' petition.

This was deemed an illegal administrative act which also cost the country
349.6 billion baht in unnecessary public debt that would be incurred through
investing in unnecessary power plant projects, said the petition.

The planned construction of power plants in various parts of the country
would also result in negative impacts on residents living in nearby areas,
the environment and the overall quality of life of many people, said the
group in its petition.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1137921/activists-file-power-plan-pe
tition

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com