Egat officials confirmed yesterday
that completion of the massive
Ratchaburi power plant will be
delayed, threatening the country with
blackouts and raising new questions
about the timetable for the Yadana
gas pipeline.
Siridhat Klanklamdee, Egat's
assistant governor, said construction
of the first gas-fired unit, which is
due
to burn natural gas delivered by the
pipeline from Burma starting in July,
is likely to be delayed by about one
month because of
slower-than-expected progress from
contractors building the plant.
However, a senior Egat official said
the delay could last around three
months because of the recent
Cabinet resolution to comply with the
International Monetary Fund's
balanced budget policy for all state
enterprises, which has forced Egat to
postpone payments to suppliers and
creditors for many projects, including
the Ratchaburi plant.
''Amid the slowdown in electricity
demand, Egat could not convince the
government to complete the power
plant on time,'' said the Egat source,
who asked to remain anonymous.
The issue of Egat's financial liquidity
problems was raised several days
ago by the Kalayanamitra Council's
Pipob Udomittipong, a pipeline critic
who testified before the national
committee set up to review the
pipeline project. Pipob said Egat
would not be able to pay off its
suppliers until the new fiscal year
starts after Sept 30, and predicted
the first 200-megawatt
combined-cycle unit of the Ratchaburi
plant will not be ready to receive gas
until November.
The delay has created new
uncertainties for the Petroleum
Authority of Thailand's pipeline
project, which is currently being built
through a pristine forest area in
Kanchanaburi inhabited by several
rare and endemic species. Critics
have called for its route to be altered,
which could become more feasible
now that the power plant destined to
use the gas won't be ready on time.
The PTT's reaction to Egat's news
yesterday was relatively mild. The
PTT has in the past responded to
calls by conservationists to delay the
project by insisting it must be
completed by July 1 or the company
would have to pay fines as high as
Bt100 million per day.
Jira Chomhimvet, the PTT official
who heads local operations for the
project, revealed yesterday that while
the PTT would indeed have to pay
for the gas Burma is supposed to
deliver even if the PTT can't receive
it, the losses would be far less than
suggested.
''We can eventually claim the gas we
pay for once the power plant is
finished and the country is ready to
take it,'' Jira said. ''In the end,
the only
money we will lose will be the
interest.''
The senior Egat official also
disclosed yesterday that executives
from Egat and the PTT will soon go
to Burma to ask Burmese authorities
to relax the penalty charge should the
PTT be unable to receive the
Burmese gas on schedule.
According to the source, the extra
charge will be around Bt150-Bt170
million a month, depending on the
exchange rate at the time. He
confirmed that the charge is not
simply a penalty fee but rather an
advance payment for the gas since
some flexibility is allowed under the
gas sales contract.
He said Egat will help the PTT
convince the Burmese about the
reasons why the PTT cannot receive
gas on time, even though Egat is not
required to pay the PTT if the power
plant is delayed.
This contradicted comments made at
the pipeline committee meeting by
Egat's Siridat, who said Egat had
signed a ''take-or-pay'' agreement
with the PTT, and so must pay for the
gas even if it cannot take it.
Siridat said postponement of the
commissioning of the Ratchaburi
power plant will cause electricity
brownouts and blackouts, each
minute of which will cost the country
Bt1.2 million.
''The economic cost will be doubled if
the blackout occurs in big cities or
industrial zones,'' he said.
Without the Ratchaburi plant, the
national electricity reserve capacity
in
1999 will stand at only 10.2 per cent,
far lower than the 25 per cent
minimum requirement. The current
reserve capacity is 12 per cent,
according to the assistant governor.
''We are well aware of the
consequences [of the delay] and are
speeding up construction of the
project to try and finish it on time,''
he
said.
Meanwhile, the national committee
reviewing the pipeline project wound
up its information-gathering yesterday
and will now deliberate on
recommendations to offer to the
prime minister next week.
Testifying on the issue of safety
concerns, the PTT's Vorachai
Piyasuntaravongse told the
committee that the petroleum firm has
already paid insurance fees --
totalling US$10 million for the
pre-commissioning period and US$30
million for the post-commissioning
period -- to protect the lives of
contractors, workers and people
living along the pipeline route.
The insurance also covers sabotage
and damage to villagers' houses. If
the businesses of people living near
the pipeline are affected by the
existence or construction of the
pipeline, they can also seek
compensation, he said.
BY WATCHARAPONG
THONGRUNG and PENNAPA
HONGTHONG