Thai power demand drops

Thai power demand drops

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.