Thai authority nods for power purchase from Laos

BANGKOK, June 9 (TNA) - The National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) has approved the additional purchase of 390 megawatts of power from Laos' Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower project. Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) Governor Suthas Patamasiriwat said that the power purchase will last 27 years and the electricity supply will start in August 2018 at the average price of 2.30 baht per unit, noting that the power supply from Laos will enter Thailand's northeastern Ubon Ratchathani Province and serve rising power demand in the Northeast. Thailand is buying over 5,000 megawatts of electricity from Laos under a bilateral agreement in which the maximum amount of electricity traded is set at 7,000 megawatts. The EGAT has another agreement to buy 1,500 megawatts of electricity from Myanmar, but the implementation of the deal has made no progress. The state-run enterprise will, thus, negotiate for power purchase from other power plant projects. According to the EGAT governor, the shareholding in the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric project comprises a 51 per cent stake of South Korean investors, 24 per cent of Lao Holding, and 25 per cent of Thailand's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Company Limited. The EGAT governor acknowledged that Thailand would benefit from buying hydroelectricity, as it would keep the electricity fee in the country low. (TNA)