Myanmar township power supply cuts to cost PEA Bt600m annually

Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said today that the cutting of electricity supplies to five locations in Myanmar border townships will cost the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) about 50 million baht per month in lost revenue.

To date they have been supplying 20.37 megawatts of electricity annually.

He maintains, however, that the measure is necessary for national security reasons, after it was discovered that the electricity was being used to power call centres, and has nothing to do with breaches of contract or politics.

The cuts will be to one location in Payathonzu township, opposite the Three Pagoda Pass in Kanchanaburi, two in Tachileik township (Ban Muang Daeng and the First Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge) and two in Myawaddy township (2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge and at Ban Huai Muang).

The minister was due to be at the PEA head office this morning when the power was cut at 9am, but he arrived about half an hour late and watched the cutting of the electricity supply to Ban Nuai Muang on a computer monitor.

Anutin said he could not prevent any of the Myanmar companies, which buy electricity from the PEA, from filing civil lawsuits demanding compensation, but he declined to comment on similar contracts with Cambodian companies purchasing electricity for use in Poipet, opposite the Aranyaprathet district of Thailand’s Sa Kaeo, which is also know to be the location of call centres.

Representatives from the Foreign Ministry and the National Security Council (NSC) reported to the House Administrative Affairs Committee about the power cuts today.

Pathai Sitthisunthorn, of the NSC, told the committee that, in addition to this morning’s power cuts, the NSC and related agencies are now considering the ceasing of oil supplies and internet services to the Myanmar townships.

Komkrit Jongboonwatana, of the Foreign Ministry, said they did notify their Myanmar counterparts about the security threat to Thailand posed by the call centres and of the need to cut electricity to these scammers.

He also said that the Foreign Ministry has assured Myanmar that the cuts will not affect people who are not connected with the call centres.