Power Outages - Thailand

[Name Taken]

Why is it that the electrical power goes out every other day here in Thailand?
Why is the electrical power system/grid here in Thailand so terribly and consistently unreliable?
Why is the internet connectivity here in Thailand so consistently unreliable?
Why is it heaped and forced upon the backs of western foreigners to modernize and improve Thailand?
I have lived here in Thailand for 4 years and this country does not seem to have improved at all during the past 4 years that i have lived here.

Posters that have nothing to say but "go home farang" or "leave if you don't like it here in Thailand" STAY OUT OF THIS THREAD AND DO NOT REPY.

[richard]

Nametaken

Think you will find the infrastructure is overloaded in your location.

In the sticks we may get disruptions of all services during massive rains but not for long

Infrastructure upgrading is not part of the thai vocabulary

[Winkie]

I'm quite certain that internet connectivity has imrpoved consdierably in the last 4 years.

Its difficult to judge improvements in electricity supply, In my BKK home I can expect power outages (or even worse, 'brown outs'), quite freqently (once or twice per week) during the rainy season, but almost never during the dry times.

In Cha Am, is similar, but far less frequent (but then I am not there so much to notice).

I think it comes with the territory

Expect progress and improvements to be very slow, if you are an optomist.

[Big Boy]

When I first visited Thailand in the 80s compared with visits in recent years, the electricity supply seems to have improved considerably.

Back in the 80s it was nothing to see 5 power outages in a day. On my last 3 or 4 monthly visits I don't recall more than 2 power outages in any visit. I've definitely noticed a significant improvement in the last 25 years.

Why does it still happen? Probably lack of funding for the required infrastructure improvements. If they raised prices to cover the necessary investment, I guess Farangs would complain, and the majority of Thais simply couldn't afford it.

TIT

[Wanderlust]

There have definitely been improvements in some areas in some aspects of infrastructure in my time in Hua Hin, nearly 7 years now, but I do agree that it is very dependent on the part of the town you are living in, as well as how newly the area has been supplied with services, so a new development in a previously untouched area will probably have less breakdowns of service as the cabling, piping etc should be relatively new, while living in an established residential area is likely to be the opposite. A lot of this hinges on the electrical supply though, which you would have to assume is continually going to have problems not common in western countries - as an example when I was living in Samorphong the electric was off for three hours once so they could rescue a snake that had coiled itself around the power cables! A delicate operation given it was a dangerous snake. It does appear that rain causes havoc with the electricity here though, so I guess the Thai equivalent of wet leaves on railway tracks or the wrong type of snow, two explanations used in the UK before to explain delayed or cancelled trains!

[Lung Per]

Nothing in Thailand is made to last forever - and forever is much shorter here than back home...

[sandman67]

and when I asked about the possibility of solar and wind powered independance from the crappy system I got mickey taking replies.....

take a look around th net and find your own solutions..... they are there, viable and in some cases a boon

Forget Thai authorities improving things soon. They have been in negotiations with Nokia for 4 years in respect of Nokia being allowed in to upgrade their crappy landline phone system. A mate there tells me its going nowhere fast due to their protectionism and downright stupidity.

my guess is even if they upgrade the power grid, they will use a shitty Chinese company to do it so money gets spent on bribes and corruption (ie business as usual).

Go green my son

[Big Boy]

Nothing in Thailand is made to last forever - and forever is much shorter here than back home...

Very philosophical

[Super Joe]

If it's regular electric outages then it's down to us buying, or building a house hooked up to a single phase supply, rather than a 3-phase supply (not same as Western 3-phase).
Single phase, the low sagging cables that everything and it's dog is connected to is overloaded and unstable, 3-phase tapped into the high level 11kv or 22kv supplies rarely goes down, apart from the odd storm damage, transformer blow up or shut-downs for upgrades. You get a choice.

Also the influx of farang houses with a/c, pools, power showers, electrical appliances and the like has put strain on the system. I can understand the original Thai residents being unhappy about it but ........

SJ

[Condoking]

Let's not get too down about Power cuts in LOL.

South Africa regularly has "Load Sharing", which is a PC way of saying Power cuts. Try driving along and suddenly the traffic lights all go out.

If I recall California had problems last year, Europe & UK are arguing about how to increase power supplies, The Middle East is struggling and predicts Power cuts during Ramadan when all the Arabs are trying to sleep during the day, with temps well into the 40s outside and Aircon on full blast.

Basically don't blame Thailand, a significant chunk of the world has power and energy challenges and, with lead times on new power stations of 5 years plus, the situation can only get worse, and that assumes the world can produce sufficient energy to power the power stations.

[Name Taken]

and when I asked about the possibility of solar and wind powered independance from the crappy system I got mickey taking replies.....

take a look around th net and find your own solutions..... they are there, viable and in some cases a boon

Forget Thai authorities improving things soon. They have been in negotiations with Nokia for 4 years in respect of Nokia being allowed in to upgrade their crappy landline phone system. A mate there tells me its going nowhere fast due to their protectionism and downright stupidity.

my guess is even if they upgrade the power grid, they will use a shitty Chinese company to do it so money gets spent on bribes and corruption (ie business as usual).

Go green my son

LOL
You're right sandman.

Thailand - The Alabama of Asia. LOL

[Nereus]

If it's regular electric outages then it's down to us buying, or building a house hooked up to a single phase supply, rather than a 3-phase supply (not same as Western 3-phase).
Single phase, the low sagging cables that everything and it's dog is connected to is overloaded and unstable, 3-phase tapped into the high level 11kv or 22kv supplies rarely goes down, apart from the odd storm damage, transformer blow up or shut-downs for upgrades. You get a choice.

Also the influx of farang houses with a/c, pools, power showers, electrical appliances and the like has put strain on the system. I can understand the original Thai residents being unhappy about it but ........

SJ

Not sure what you are writing about here, SJ. The Thai electrical system follows the "western" method, in that all generation and distribution is 3 phase. regardless of the voltage. The transformers reduce the HT supply (6 kv, 11kv, or whatever) to 3 phase, around 400 volts. The primary of the transformer is connected in what is called "delta" and has the 400 volts across each phase. The secondary of the transformer is connected in what is called "star". which is also 3 phase, but has a centre connection which is the "neutral". All distribution lines down the street have the 3 phase conductors, plus a conductor for the "neutral". The voltage across each phase is still the nominal 400 volts, and the voltage from 1 phase to the neutral is 1.732 of the nominal voltage.

If each house only requires single phase, then only 1 phase plus the neutral is run in from the pole. If the building requires 3 phase, then each phase and the neutral are run in to the consumer switch board, where the load is split up across the seperate phases to try and obtain a rough balance. The supply company attempt to do the same thing at the street level, by connecting each succeeding house to a different phase in a progressive manner down the street.

Where it falls down here is the state of the overhead cabling, which is mostly undersized and overloaded, leading to bad voltage drop to the consumer.

End of lesson!

[Winkie]

I have single phase supply into my Cha Am home, which very sedom suffers from power problems.

I have a 3 Phase supply into my Bangkok home, whihc suffers from more frequent power problems.

Both are tolerable, and don't really cause too much of an issue

[Super Joe]

If it's regular electric outages then it's down to us buying, or building a house hooked up to a single phase supply, rather than a 3-phase supply (not same as Western 3-phase).
Single phase, the low sagging cables that everything and it's dog is connected to is overloaded and unstable, 3-phase tapped into the high level 11kv or 22kv supplies rarely goes down, apart from the odd storm damage, transformer blow up or shut-downs for upgrades. You get a choice. Also the influx of farang houses with a/c, pools, power showers, electrical appliances and the like has put strain on the system. I can understand the original Thai residents being unhappy about it but ........
SJ

Not sure what you are writing about here, SJ. The Thai electrical system follows the "western" method, in that all generation and distribution is 3 phase. regardless of the voltage. The transformers reduce the HT supply (6 kv, 11kv, or whatever) to 3 phase, around 400 volts. The primary of the transformer is connected in what is called "delta" and has the 400 volts across each phase. The secondary of the transformer is connected in what is called "star". which is also 3 phase, but has a centre connection which is the "neutral". All distribution lines down the street have the 3 phase conductors, plus a conductor for the "neutral". The voltage across each phase is still the nominal 400 volts, and the voltage from 1 phase to the neutral is 1.732 of the nominal voltage.

If each house only requires single phase, then only 1 phase plus the neutral is run in from the pole. If the building requires 3 phase, then each phase and the neutral are run in to the consumer switch board, where the load is split up across the seperate phases to try and obtain a rough balance. The supply company attempt to do the same thing at the street level, by connecting each succeeding house to a different phase in a progressive manner down the street.
Where it falls down here is the state of the overhead cabling, which is mostly undersized and overloaded, leading to bad voltage drop to the consumer.
End of lesson!

Hi Nereus, took this pic of a friends' project set-up near my house and marked it up with what I was referring to, and what we do to overcome what you rightly say in your last paragraph .... where it falls down here. We buy a dedicated transformer from electric company, connect off the 11/22kv supply, we could just connect the houses up with single phase from the low level LV cables like many do, but they are already over-loaded, and that's without whatever gets built and connected up to them in the future. Also means short cable runs, some houses are on the end of a half km+ long cable from nearest transformer so suffering voltage loss.

Some areas being developed do not yet have 3-phase infrastructure just a tiny single phase supply propped up on lengths of wood supplying a couple of tin shacks. Developers then have to pay to bring in the 3-phase infrastructure cabling, poles etc, the electric company won't provide it.

What I meant, though badly worded, by not same as 'Western 3-phase' was bringing 3 phases into a house where single phase would do, as it would be back home. When I've spoke to farangs about 3-phase supplies there's always confusion about this from the point of single or 3-phase motors/equipment. They ask "why what 3-phase equipment is in the house".



Cheers, SJ

[Nereus]

Cheers, SJ. A good idea if you can get it like that. But what a shame that everybody has to put up with such an eyesore with all the overhead mess.

The development that Pete is on has ALL underground supplies--what a difference!