Electricity grid upgrade

The Energy Ministry will next week ask for Cabinet approval of a Bt9.17-billion budget for the expansion of electricity systems in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, a source from Government House said yesterday.
The expansion is part of the Power Development Plan 2004, to be carried out from 2004 to 2015, which had been previously approved by the Cabinet, the source said. The plan is an Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand mega-project that aims to increase supply efficiency, to support rising demand for electricity in the capital and neighbouring provinces, to improve and expand the Metropolitan Electricity Authority's distribution system and to reduce economic damage as a result of blackouts. The expansion consists of a number of sub-projects including the construction of a 230-kilovolt power plant in Samut Prakan's Klong Dan, the enlargement and re-laying of cables between Bang Prakong, Klong Dan and Bang Phli and the upgrading of the 230kV cables between Nong Chok and On Nut to 500kV. The project will also see the 2,000-amp switching devices at Sai Noi and Bangkok Noi high-voltage stations upgraded to 5,000 amps, the installation of 16 more transmitters at the city's high-voltage stations and a number of shunt capacitors amounting to approximately 900 MVAR (Mega Volt Ampere Reactive).
Piyanart Srivalo The Nation
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