Year 2009

 December 2009

Egat seeks House vote on nuclear plan

By YUTHANA PRAIWAN

NAKHON RATCHASIMA : The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) will ask Parliament to vote on whether Thailand should go ahead with planned nuclear power plants next year, says outgoing governor Sombat Sarntijaree.

A feasibility study on the project is now being conducted and the government is expected to make the decision next year. Egat, however, thinks Parliament better represents the public.

"Nuclear power is crucial for national power development. It involves not only Egat but all walks of life, thus every voice should be heard when the project is considered," Mr Sombat said.

Under the existing power development plan, Egat would build two nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 1,000 megawatts to begin operating in 2021 and 2022. Five potential locations have been selected and a final decision will be made in the middle of next year.

Last month, Egat signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese state-owned China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPC) and CLP Holding Co for information exchange and personnel training on nuclear technology over the next three years.

CGNPC has developed its own nuclear power technology over the past decade including the CPR-1000 pressurised water reactor in co-operation with France's Areva. Egat last year sent more than 80 engineers and technicians to receive nuclear-power training in China.

However, the utility has not decided whether to choose the Chinese nuclear technology, said Mr Sombat.

A survey conducted by Egat in October showed that while 60% of the public accepted the use of nuclear power, the same portion admitted they did not want the plants in or near their towns.

Egat has maintained that the adoption of nuclear power is critical. In August, the natural gas supply to the power grid was disrupted twice, forcing Egat to switch to fuel oil and adding about one billion baht to its costs.

"We can no longer take any risk from heavy reliance on natural gas, which now represents 70% of all fuels used in generating power. In August, we learned the lesson that a gas shortage in the power grid nearly caused a blackout for the entire country," Mr Sombat said.

Climate change is another major factor that makes nuclear power attractive since a nuclear power plant has zero carbon emissions, he added.

The utility expects the country's power demand to resume growth of 4% next year after dropping 0.5% this year.

By Bangkok Post

December 1, 2009

Back