Thai power demand drops

Wed, 08 Jul 1998, 00:00 WIB | Source: REUTERS

BANGKOK (Reuters): Thai electricity demand will contract for
the first time in 35 years in 1998 as the country's worst
economic crisis takes its toll, the head of the state power
authority said yesterday.

Viravat Chlayon, governor of the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand, said Thai electricity demand was projected
to drop by 2.25 percent this year to 14,180 megawatts (MW) from
14,506 in 1997 and could continue to slide.

Before Thailand's economic bubble burst last year, power
demand was growing at double-digit annually, he said.

Chlayon said the decline in demand was likely to force
independent power producers to delay their projects as Thailand
might not need any additional megawatts in its grid until 2000.

View JSON | Print