View Full Version : Importing Power/Fuel
Yappofloyd
30-06-05, 07:16 PM
There are strange currently in thailand where all sorts of off the cuff power saving intiatives reflective of past and present regimes from neighbouring countries are being suggested and/or implemented. From restricting large store clsoing hours, to attempting to get everyone to turn off all their lights for 5 mins or a proposal to close TV stations at midnight it all appears quite farcical.
Of course there is no wholistic discussion or debate about coming up with a comprehensive energy strategy but it seems that there are some almost desperate measures to keep feeding thailands pwoer consumption needs. The Mekong grid may be beneficial in the long term but as with many current projects there does not seem to have been much debate or thought put into other potential consequences. And of course the 'devil' of corruption is at play to ensure a few gain at the expense of the many
ANALYSIS / THE MEKONG ELECTRICITY POWER GRID By CHRIS GREACEN
A gamble that leaves us holding the bill (BKK Post 30/06/05)
The hope that the scheme will pay off is based on the assumption that lots of cheap hydropower plants will be built in Laos, Burma and Yunnan. The problem is no one knows what these projects will really cost
Electricity rate payers in the entire Mekong region are being signed up for a risky scheme involving a US$1.2 billion (48 billion baht) transmission system that will link Thailand with its Mekong region neighbours.
The benefits from this gamble, if there are any, are likely to flow to investors, but if you are an electricity customer in Thailand, Vietnam, Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia or Burma, the bill is guaranteed to be sent to you.
On July 4 and 5, leaders from the region will gather at the Second Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) summit in Kunming, China to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on the Implementation of Stage 1 of the Regional Power Trade Operating Agreement (RPTOA). Stage 1 is the first of four stages that promoters envision leading to a region-wide transmission network and accompanying power market. A Thai cabinet resolution last week authorised Thai delegates to sign the Kunming MOU.
According to the cabinet resolution, the claimed benefit of the scheme is that sharing electricity will lower costs: while Thailand's peak electricity demand occurs during the middle of a hot day in April, our neighbours' greatest power needs might occur at other times, and we will all be better off by sharing what we have when others need it.
To communicate the concept of a regional grid to the public, a Thai utility used an advertisement campaign featuring the common Thai dish krapao gai khai dao, or ''chicken stir-fry with basil and fried egg''. To eat the stir-fry without fried egg, or fried egg without chicken stir-fry, is considered incomplete. In the advertisement, an exchange between two countries with complementary electricity resources is likened to two people, one with chicken stir-fry and the other with fried egg, sharing to create a win-win situation.
But GMS studies concede that interconnection will enable a peak load reduction of only 2.5%. If you look at the numbers, the hope that the scheme will pay off is actually based on the assumption that lots of cheap hydropower plants will be built in Laos, Burma and Yunnan, and that this hydropower will displace electricity generation from gas and coal.
The problem is that no one knows what these hydropower projects will really cost. The RPTOA final report confesses that ''there is not enough base information to estimate costs for developing hydro plants'', yet a companion document, the Indicative Master Plan on Power Interconnection in GMS Countries, somehow or other derives a set of favourable hydropower cost assumptions for an analysis that concludes that the scheme will save US$914 million (36.6 billion baht).
As of August 2004, only five of eight Lao hydropower projects even had feasibility studies. It is an understatement to say that without feasibility studies for all the main proposed projects, the economic benefit of the projects, and thus the entire interconnection plan, is uncertain.
Truth be told, feasibility studies offer no guarantees: a World Commission on Dams study found that the average cost overrun for 248 large dam projects was 54%.
While uncertainty in hydropower costs are important, they are just the tip of the iceberg. Equally important is a profound underestimation of the costs, time and leadership required to harmonise technical planning and operating standards across the region in order to operate an interconnected, connected grid that has to respond without fail to disturbances, within minutes, in a coordinated fashion, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Though the technical challenges are formidable, the political ones are even tougher. It takes good neighbours to share a transmission link. The Canadian economy lost US$400 million (16 billion baht) in August 2003 when a negligent utility in the United States caused a massive cascading blackout throughout the East Coast that literally pulled the plug on Ontario's industries.
Is Thailand ready to tie the reliability of its electricity grid, a lifeline of its economy, to split-second consequences of actions by transmission grid operators in neighbouring countries? We have a long way to go, considering that just 1-1/2 years ago Cambodian people expressed their appreciation of Thailand by burning down the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh.
Promoters of the grid, including the Asian Development Bank and dam developers, say that it will yield benefits. But they are not the ones who will be left holding the bill. The additional US$1.2 billion (48 billion baht) in costs for transmission scheme go, as do all costs ultimately, to the electricity consumer, embedded in the rates we pay for power.
The benefits, if there are any, go to the private sector electricity producers. If _ and this is a very big ''if'' _ there is sufficient competition to force producers to forgo some of their profits, then the resulting lower costs trickle down to consumers.
But experience in California showed all too clearly that the two relatively unique traits of electricity _ its non-storability and the ''obligation to serve'' of utilities effectively eliminating price elasticity for short-term price movements _ allows even small suppliers to gouge customers when supplies are tight.
Without a strong independent regulator and a regulatory process that guarantees public involvement, there is little reason to believe the interests of the consumers and other vulnerable stakeholders will be protected.
In GMS plans, we have found no mention of public hearings which would allow for transparent oversight of transmission investments. Perversely, the RPTOA report recommends against implementing ''a highly independent regional regulatory agency'' because ''the introduction of liberalisation and truly competitive markets is not a short or medium-term objective of GMS countries''.
This makes little sense. It is precisely the lack of competition that is a primary motivation for strong and independent regulation. Without competition, an independent regulator is essential to ensure that monopolies or oligopolies do not gouge rate payers, and that regional transmission investments are prudent, timely and in the best interests of consumers.
The regulatory process must include a mandatory Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) decision framework that selects risk-adjusted, economic least-cost alternatives. The options considered should not exclude demand side management and clean distributed generation, which have proven again and again to be cheaper and less risky than building massive transmission and centralised generation.
Strong independent regulatory authorities, public participation and integrated resource planning have been three pillars of successful utility practice for decades in developed countries. And they have saved consumers billions of dollars.
Such an independent regulatory process is needed, before aggressively pursuing cross-border transmission investments, to provide for meaningful intervention by consumers and other vulnerable stakeholders in a decision that will ultimately become their lasting burden.
Is the Mekong Power Grid a case of sharing chicken stir fry and basil with our neighbours? Most likely not. It's caviar and fine French wine for lunch at the Mekong Country Club. But it looks like we rate payers are buying. And we're not invited to the table.
This article is based on an analysis by Bretton W Garrett, P.Eng, PhD. Dr Garrett is a registered professional engineer in the Canadian province of British Columbia. His analyses of GMS grid documents are available at . Chris Greacen, PhD, is director of Palang Thai, an independent public interest energy analysis organisation.
The weird thing about Myanmar is that despite the secretive nature of the Junta, there are some interesting maps of it available online; and not all of them placed there by the numerous anti-Junta websites.
That said, 'Salaween Watch' is obviously one organization which finds dam & hydro projects on the Salaween (I believe the Junta prefer 'Thanlwin') somewhat less than transparent. The map page includes maps that show villages where forcible relocation has occurred; rape being just one of the military tactics employed during these relocations. As always, Japanese & Thai companies seem to figure heavily in the projects that require such relocations:-
http://www.salweenwatch.org/maps.html
One of the included maps of Shan State:-
http://www.salweenwatch.org/maps/map_images/hydroproject.jpg
So this is what EGAT intends to do when it is privatized. For Full Report:-
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/13Dec2005_biz28.php
Egat and Burma's Electricity Authority last week signed an agreement for a feasibility study for a massive hydroelectric dam at Hutgui on the Salween River.
The study will take a year and focus on the project's location and design.
Egat will look for the partners to co-invest in the 1,000-1,200 MW project shortly after the study has been finished.
At a rough guess, Thailand is using the pretext of the USA's suppression of Vang Pao to move closer to Laos, and create SOME distance in its relationship with Myanmar. Do the government have suspicions that Myanmar is still intent on doing business with Thaksin and his associates?:
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=266639
June 10, 2007 11:36 AM
Thailand Not Buying Power From Myanmar's Salween River - Piyasvasti
By D.Arul Rajoo
KRABI (Thailand), June 10 (Bernama) -- Thailand has denied it has agreed to buy electricity from the controversial hydropower dam on the Salween River in Myanmar, saying the present government is not looking for cheap energy supply from that country.
Thai Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand said the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) had never signed any contract with Myanmar to purchase electricity but had merely inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct a feasibility study on the project.
"If someone is clearing road, that's their business. Our government's policy is different from the previous government, different from five years ago," he told Bangkok-based foreign correspondents during a talk on "Renewable Energy Policy in Thailand" in the southern resort island here last night.
Piyasvasti said the present government, which came to power after the Sept 19 coup that ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was looking to Laos, another neighbour, to meet its power supply needs, with the possibility of buying 5,000MW (Megawatts) daily.
"We intend to buy more power from Laos and we are encouraging Thai investors to invest there. Anything beyond 2015, we will look at China, but it all depends on the next government," he said.
Thaksin government's friendly business relations with the military junta in Myanmar was criticised by international human rights groups, particularly its plan to buy hydro power from Myanmar.
Myanmar's state-run "New Light of Myanmar" newspaper had reported that Thailand's MDX Group had invested about US$6 billion in the Tasang project in eastern Shan state, the biggest of four planned dams on the Salween River, the longest undammed waterway in the region.
Construction of the 868m long and 227m high dam, located about 75km from the Thai border in Shan state, started on March 30.
Once completed, generators installed at the power station would have a total capacity of 7,110MW. The project is expected to generate 35,446 million kilowatts per hour yearly.
Human rights groups had claimed the project would displace more than 80,000 hill tribe people from their homeland in the Shan, Karenni and Karen states in Myanmar as well as from the Mae Hong Son province in Thailand.
-- BERNAMA
Such a move by Thailand will probably not bring an end to the hydro-electric projects on the Salween River, as other countries such as Bangladesh might well purchase electric from Myanmar. A recent Guardian Unlimited article exposes yet another savage campaign of clearance by Myanmar's military in advance of the commencement of these construction projects:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/burma/story/0,,2079598,00.html#article_continue
More background here:
http://www.salweenwatch.org/index.html
Of course, it is almost inevitable that the Laotian government will also resort to strong-arm clearance campaigns in areas where hydro projects are to be built to service Thailand's insatiable needs for electric. Indeed, I believe there is already a history of such clearances with earlier projects in Laos.
EDITORIAL
Does Laos hold all the power?
In a valley northeast of Vientiane, about 1,000 people eke out a living. They have no electricity in the region, which centres on the village of Long Tieng, once known as the main CIA base when the country was at war. This is an important point. Right now, powerful government officials in Vientiane and important bureaucrats and businessmen in Thailand and foreign countries are making the final plans on how the area will make and sell electricity. The ever-increasing power plans are an important part of Lao economic planning. The question is whether the decisions are being made in the interest of the people of Laos.
Thailand has long been a customer of the Laos electricity company, under many governments and two contrasting political decisions. Capitalist or communist, the Lao government always has kept the power flowing to Thai electricity lines. During times when political relations hit low points _ even during the ill-considered border wars of 20 years ago _ the lights never went out. Lao-provided electricity has long been a necessity to the Thai power grid.
Until a generation ago, Thai electricity purchases were a win-win situation. Laos, blessed with many rivers for hydro-electric projects, produced more power than the country could consume. Thailand bought the excess. But the growth of Thailand's economy put heavy pressure on the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to come up with a lot of electricity, quickly. Egat turned to Laos. That country, behind Thailand in economic development, was convinced to increase the dams to step up the electricity output. In Thailand, this is huge business. Just for example, Thailand purchases 5.3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity from the massive Nam Theun 2 dam project alone, and the contract covers 25 years.
Bargaining over electricity prices sometimes gets fierce, but in general Laos has no complaints about the price or payment terms. However, the multiplication of dam projects in Laos has raised severe questions. Since the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and foreign government loans often pay for the dams, the questions are serious. Many believe that the Lao government is not taking any notice of the problems of local people affected by the dams. Tens of thousands have been flooded out, along with their culture.
More importantly, there are serious and credible charges that the Lao government has used the dam projects for more sinister purposes. Its mistreatment of Hmong people is well documented. The arrest in America last week of anti-communist Hmong icon Vang Pao has renewed the charges that the Vientiane administration continues to punish the Hmong for the wartime activities.
One thing that is clear is that the rural people of Laos, especially the hilltribes, receive little or no benefit from the government's internationally backed power projects.
Last week, the World Bank handed $18.5 million to Cambodia and $15 million to Laos to build a power transmission line to carry electricity to Cambodia. The power is to come from the Nam Theun hydro-electric project. This is one of the world's most controversial dams, a $1.5-billion programme that is to produce 1,070 megawatts of power, and has generated even more political heat. Environmentalists and human rights activists have apparently lost their battle to save virgin forests and 6,200 villagers are to be flooded out.
Meanwhile, Egat, still unable to meet the country's electricity needs domestically, has moved ahead with a programme to purchase power from China. There is the usual fighting over prices, but China is willing to go ahead with the sale within a decade, according to Beijing reports. One or two satang per kilowatt-hour is supposed to go to residents in the area of the power plants, but so far there has been no announcement on just how this paltry fund will be applied.
Doing business with dictators requires special care. In such a situation, Egat and Thai authorities must take extra care to assure that the power they are purchasing is clean for the environment, and the affected people.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/110607_News/11Jun2007_news15.php
Such a move by Thailand will probably not bring an end to the hydro-electric projects on the Salween River, as other countries such as Bangladesh might well purchase electric from Myanmar. A recent Guardian Unlimited article exposes yet another savage campaign of clearance by Myanmar's military in advance of the commencement of these construction projects:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/burma/story/0,,2079598,00.html#article_continue
More background here:
http://www.salweenwatch.org/index.html
Of course, it is almost inevitable that the Laotian government will also resort to strong-arm clearance campaigns in areas where hydro projects are to be built to service Thailand's insatiable needs for electric. Indeed, I believe there is already a history of such clearances with earlier projects in Laos.
The MDX Group mentioned in all of these articles has a remarkably low internet profile. A search revealed no website - at least in English - and little more than the fact (possibly already out-of-date) that it has an office at No. 1 Thanon Wittayu in Bangkok. Anyone have any info on this group?:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=7434
Salween River Activist Skeptical Despite Thai Assurances
By Sai Silp
June 11, 2007
The current Thai government position o*n Burmese plans to build a series of dams o*n the Salween River was no guarantee that human rights abuses connected with the projects would end, according to a leading environmentalist.
Sai Sai, a Shan environmentalist from the organizations Shan Sapawa and Burma River Network, was reacting to a statement by Thai Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand pointing out that the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) had never signed a contract with Burma to purchase electricity but had merely inked a memorandum of understanding to conduct a feasibility study o*n the project.
Piyasvasti was quoted by the Malaysian National News Agency Bernama as saying Thailand’s present government was “looking to Laos, another neighbor, to meet its power supply needs.” The present government’s position was different to that adopted by the administration of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, he said.
Sai Sai suggested that the current government might have adopted a new stand o*n the Salween dams projects because of pressure from opponents. There has been wide criticism of the projects, which opponents claim will involve the forced relocation of ethnic communities from the areas of the planned dams.
Thailand recently announced it remained interested in the exploitation of such power sources as natural gas and hydro-electricity from Burma while searching for alternative sources such as bio-energy and nuclear power. Egat director Kraisri Kannasuta has said the generating authority is looking for a suitable site for a nuclear power plant.
Former Thai Senator Tuenjai Deetes said that it is a good sign that Egat was looking for other sources of energy than hydropower from Burma, but she maintained that agreements between previous government and other countries were difficult to change because relationships and investment might be affected.
Currently, Thailand's MDX Group has invested about US $6 billion in the Tasang project in eastern Shan state, the biggest of four planned dams o*n the Salween River, the longest undammed waterway in the region.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=7434
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=31
Thai Energy Minister turns down power purchase from Salween dams. Why?
Wittayakorn Boonreung
12 June 2007
News
On June 10, 2007, I came across an interesting news report from a Malaysian news agency Bernama.
According to Bernama, Thailand's Energy Minister Piyasavasti Amarananda has refused to purchase power to be generated by Salween dams from the Burmese junta, saying the current government would not seek sources of energy in Myanmar.
Piyasavasti reportedly said that the ministry had yet to sign any contracts with Myanmar ; only a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a feasibility study on the dam project had been signed.
"This government's policy is different from that of its predecessor in the last five years," Piyasavasti said to foreign correspondents during a field trip to Krabi.
However, the 5,000 MW purchase from Laos is to proceed, and a joint venture with China is being deliberated. Both will be carried out in the next administration, he said.
The news article further says that the previous government had business ties with the Myanmar junta, which was a point of criticisms by human rights advocates against the Salween power purchase deal.
The junta's mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar reported that a Thai company MDX had invested 6 billion USD to build a Ta Sang dam in the east of Shan state, one of those dams planned on the Salween river. The construction of 868-meter length and 227-meter height, located about 75 kilometers away from Thailand's border, has begun since this March 30.
The hydropower dam will have a generation capacity of 7,110MW, generating 35,446 million kilowatt-hours per year.
Return of dams and power plants in the country to stimulate the economy. Will the people allow?
Readers. Please do not be swayed with the idea that this interim Thai government comes up with a policy upholding human rights in Myanmar by refraining from making a deal with the junta. There are some points to be reckoned with.
Thailand's economy has always been expanded; hence the ever growing of energy demand. However, people's movements against dams and power plants construction have also come on strong in recent years. Lessons learnt from controversial cases such as Mae Moh power plants or several dams repel the idea of having power plants and dams in one's neighborhood.
Perhaps due to the local people's such strong sentiment against polluting projects, the previous government saw fit to shove the environmental burden to its neighboring countries instead.
Nonetheless, energy projects inside the country are not scrapped for good, rather waiting to re-emerge.
Is it now time to say that we should have power plants and dams inside our border again? The Independent Power Producer (IPP) scheme has been revived after all these years.
And now it is not merely a matter of future energy security, but also a means to stimulate the economy.
And the movements have begun.
Energy Ministry Deputy Permanent Secretary Dr Kurujit Nakontap said that to build a 700MW power plant costs around 20 billion baht, so the investment on 4-5 IPP power plants due to be open for bidders in June 2007 for a combined capacity of 3,200MW is estimated to be over 100 billion baht, starting from 2008. That would benefit the economy, and secure the country's energy supply, he said.
The IPP bidding is included in the government's Power Development Plan 2007 (PDP 2007), which plans for new generation capacity of 39, 676.25MW for the next 15 years (2007-2021). The new supply is divided into two phases: phase 1, projects already approved and under construction during 2007-2010, 7,885.25MW in total; and phase 2, projects to be proceeded during 2011-2021, 31,791MW in total, including 16 projects of 12,400MW run by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT)--2,800MW out of that would be from coal, 18 IPP projects of 12,600MW, Small Power Producer (SPP) projects of 1,700MW, and electricity imports from neighboring countries of 5,091MW. The total investment cost is 2.08 trillion baht: 1.37 trillion baht for the EGAT's generation and transmission expansion, and 0.71 trillion baht for the IPP, SPP, and imports. (see Manager Online June 4, 2007)
A researcher of Research Fund Office Prida Wibunsawat said that Thailand's 25 river basins can be tapped for power generation of up to 15,000MW by building small multi-purpose dams of up to 200MW each. If equipped with a sound research and development plan, Thailand should be able to get 5,000MW, in addition to 3,500MW currently produced by hydropower dams. It is necessary to inform the people that the energy produced from small dams can significantly reduce the fluctuating prices of energy, as in Japan or Europe.
Furthermore, the Mekong river bordering Thailand and Laos from Loei to Ubon Ratchatani can also be tapped for another 5,000MW.
This is what conservation groups have to prepare to battle for.
The refusal to buy power from the Salween dams is an excuse to have more domestic sources of energy, while the joint venture with China seems to go nowhere, and power to be purchased from Laos can never replace the missing megawatts from Salween dams.
However, we cannot rest assured of what Piyasawat has said. As long as the people's movements remain strong, it would be difficult for those dam builders to revive their dreams. And the Thai company has already put so much money on the Salween projects, and the construction still continues.
Translated by Ponglert Pongwanan
Atrocity before the Deluge
By George McLeod
More than 75,000 Burmese have been displaced for a hydroelectric dam project. Most are from the Karen and Shan ethnic minorities. Their choice is to stay and be killed or enslaved, or flee to Thailand.
In a small rebel camp near the Thai border, Na Wa - not his real name - recalls last December when Burmese troops arrived at his village.
"A scout ran into the village shouting that the army was coming. Everyone started to panic and pack up their belongings - we knew the (Burmese army) would either kill or capture us," he says.
Na Wa and his family had two choices: remain in their village where they would be killed or used as forced labour, or flee across the Thai border.
In what human rights groups are calling Burma's worst military offensive in 10 years, more than 75,000 civilians have been displaced to make way for Southeast Asia's biggest hydroelectric dam projects. Most are from the Karen and Shan ethnic minorities.
"What is happening in Karen and Shan State is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, it is tantamount to ethnic cleansing," said Mark Farmaner of the Burma Campaign UK. "The Burmese army is depopulating huge areas of the country. They are torturing, killing and raping on a massive scale."
Na Wa and other able-bodied villagers trekked for four days to avoid the Burmese onslaught, eventually arriving at a rebel camp near the Thai border. Several dozen stayed behind or hid in the forest.
"Some were left because they were sick or old - we have not seen or heard from them since," says Na Wa. He now lives in a small camp controlled by the Karen National Union, a group fighting for an independent Karen State.
The Salween hydroelectric projects include four dams on Burma's Salween River in restive regions populated by ethnic minorities that are fighting for autonomy from the Burmese junta. Human rights groups say that the Burmese army is forcefully evicting local people to make way for construction.
The Karen are one of Burma's largest ethnic minorities. They share a distinct culture and language, and they are Christian, unlike the majority Burmese, who are Buddhist. The Karen National Liberation Army, the military wing of the KNU, has fought for independence since the 1940s. Faced with a larger and better equipped Burmese army, though, KNLA-controlled areas have shrunk to small pockets near the Thai border.
Burma is considered one of the world's worst human rights offenders. The military government prohibits dissent and is widely criticised for its torture and imprisonment of political opponents. It continues to hold opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for her vocal stance against the junta.
For power and profit
For the cash-strapped Burmese government, the Salween dams will generate much-needed foreign currency. The country is debt-ridden and strangled by US sanctions and EU trade restrictions. According to a leaked IMF report, Burma suffers "debt distress", with almost half of all foreign loans owed to Japan. Current debt stands at 1,235% of government revenue and inflation is high. "This is the biggest foreign investment project in the history of the Burmese junta," said Farmaner from the Burma Campaign. "It will earn huge profits for the Burmese government and give them more resources to maintain power. Ultimately, it will come at the expense of the Karen."
The Bangkok-based Salween Watch says the projects are backed by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, China's Sinohydro Corporation, and Thailand's MDX Group. They will cost an estimated US $10 billion and produce more than 12,700 kilowatts of electricity.
Although there is near universal condemnation of the dams' human rights implications, some analysts say that the projects could bring much needed electricity to Burma.
David Steinberg, the Director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University, points out that Burma's economy will remain stagnant without energy.
"The supply of electricity to Burma is absolutely vital. Whatever factories are there can only operate four or eight hours per day - it isn't reliable. So why would you invest, even if there weren't sanctions?"
Steinberg also criticised the West's trade sanctions, pointing out that as the economic restrictions have tightened, Asian countries have stepped in to take their place.
"The sanctions aren't working - they weren't going to work from the very beginning," he says. "When you pressure the (Burmese) government in this very public way, the only response that the government will give is to stand up to you."
"So why put them in that position?... The pressure has to be such that there is a graceful way out, so that they can give in to the pressure without looking like they're giving in," says Steinberg, who has met Aung San Suu Kyi on several occasions.
A representative of Thailand's MDX Group, which is financing the project, said he is not aware of refugees fleeing from the site and that his company has been "very careful" to ensure that forced labour is not used. "All of the work is being done to international standards, all of the workers are happy," he said, but did not want his name in print.
But according to New York-based Human Rights Watch, the projects continue to drive Karen into Thailand's refugee camps, which already are swollen with civilians fleeing the Burmese onslaught. The refugee crisis is expected to worsen when tens of thousands of civilians lose their homes as more than 300 square km of land are flooded.
Despite the scale of the alleged atrocities, the international community has done almost nothing and foreign aid groups are forbidden from shipping humanitarian supplies to the Karen without Burma's approval.
When a UN resolution calling for democracy in Burma was tabled in January, Russia and China exercised a joint veto - the first time they have done so since 1972.
The countries say that the resolution lies outside the Security Council's scope, but the Burma Campaign contends their motives were economic. Both countries are important arms suppliers to the SPDC and are seeking interests in Burma's large energy reserves. Burma is also scheduled to join the Asia Energy Security Grid - a major energy arrangement that will link Iran, Russia, China and Burma.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=119986
mdechgan
27-08-07, 01:22 PM
I'm all for it.
Thailand has severe power shortage due to mediocre management and lack of investement and poor infrastructure. More coal burners or diesel generators are only a short term polluting fix.
Thailand has been buying and sourcing power from neighboring countries for awhile now.
The electrical rates in Bangkok are comparatively high inregards to other countries kilowatt per hour.
To be honest I don't know how the electrical bill is calculated here. It is really confusing with the FT and this and that but I do know that is is rather expensive compared to my last bill in the states.
The Myanmar Junta benefits! Thaksin may have benefitted! Some Karen are understandably pissed at having their land flooded. EGAT employees are being put at risk. I seem to remember an EGAT surveyor has already been killed by a landmine on one of these Salween hydro projects:
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=119986
Thai worker killed in bomb attack in Burma
A Thai worker for the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) at the construction site of the Hat Gyi dam in Burma died in a grenade attack on Sunday, a security source said on Monday.
At about 7pm Sunday evening, two men on a motorbike threw two grenades into the Egat camp where some 40 workers lived, the source said. The bomb killed Saman (family name unknown) instantly and injured others but the number of injuries remains unclear.
The Hat Gyi dam is part of a series of dams which Thailand and Burma have planned to build on the Salween River since 2005 in order to generate 10,000 megawatts of electricity. The Hat Gyi will be the first to be completed in five or six years, with a capacity of 1,200 MW.
The remaining Thai workers at the construction site are reportedly on their way home due to fears for their safety.
The dam has been opposed by a number of people, notably armed groups along the border between Thailand and Burma. Sunday's bomb was not the first. In May, a bomb exploded at the site when workers were washing up after work. Two bombs were planted but only one exploded.
The Burmese junta State Peace and Development Council accused the rebel group Karen National Union of being responsible for the explosion.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/03/regional/regional_30047576.php
The New Light of Myanmar is reporting this as an artillery attack:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=16866#post16866
The Myanmar Junta benefits! Thaksin may have benefitted! Some Karen are understandably pissed at having their land flooded. EGAT employees are being put at risk. I seem to remember an EGAT surveyor has already been killed by a landmine on one of these Salween hydro projects:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/03/regional/regional_30047576.php
The New Light of Myanmar is reporting this as an artillery attack:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=16866#post16866
Thai dam project in Burma suspended
Thailand's state-run utility Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) decided Tuesday to suspend its exploration for a new hydropower dam on Salween River until safety is ensured.
But the state enterprise insisted the postponement would not affect Thailand’s energy situation.
Kraisi Karnasuta, EGAT governor revealed the Hatkyi project in Burma had to be put on hold indefinitely
after EGAT employee Samarn Kantameun was killed in an attack over the weekend.
He was the second victim after the first fatality, a geologist, stepped on a landmine near the project site last May.
Meanwhile, the other 47 EGAT staff have moved to a safer zone in Myanmar to board a plane EGAT had arranged to transport them to Thailand.
The rebel Karen National Union (KNU) was alleged of firing weapons into the Thai workers'camp. However, KNU secretary-general Pado Manza denied the claim, saying Burma’s government and Karen DKBA forces were active in the area.
Thai Energy Minister Piyasavasti Amaranand said the dam was a bilateral effort. However, the safety of Thai officials was a priority. He has urged authorities to expedite power plant development in Laos if the plan in Burma was uncertain. (TNA)
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=121362
Laos also seems to be hatching up some hydro-electric projects with Vietnam at the moment; in addition to a few projects to bring electricity to a greater number of its own citizens:
Thailand to buy more electricity from Laos
Bangkok (dpa) - Thailand has agreed to buy 5,000 megawatts of hydro-electricity from land-locked Laos by the year 2015, and is discussing imports of another 2,000mw thereafter, energy officials revealed on Friday.
"In addition to the implementation of the 5,000 megawatts as agreed in the 2006 memorandum of understanding, we are now discussing an additional 2,000 megawatts, or higher, to be supplied to Thailand after 2015," Lao Energy Minister Bosaykham Vongdara told a seminar in Bangkok on "sustainable hydropower development" hosted by the World Bank.
Laos, Thailand's neighbour to the north across the Mekong River, ranks among the world's poorest nations. But the mountainous country, half the size of France, is rich in rivers capable of generating an estimated 20,000mw of electricity.
The country's current hydro-electricity capacity is less than 700mw, much of which is already exported to Thailand. By the year 2010, with the completion of the Nam Theun II dam, the national capacity should be boosted to 1,800mw.
Thailand's Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) will be the main buyer of the Nam Theun II hydro-electricity.
The 1.1 billion dollar Nam Theun II project has been built by a consortium including the Lao government, France's EDF and two Thai companies. The massive project received a guarantee from the World Bank, which has insisted the dam fulfilled stringent environmental and social impact standards.
Nam Theun II has thus far won favourable critiques from visitors.
"Hydro-projects in Laos have shown the world that hydro-projects can be environmentally friendly," said Thai Minister of Energy Piyasvasti Amranand.
Thailand is also considering importing hydro-electricity from neighbouring Burma, which has massive plans to dam up the Salween River, flooding territory currently under the control of the Karen minority group that has been waging a guerrilla war against the Burma military for six decades.
Environmentalist and human rights groups have condemned the project and criticized Thailand for offering itself as a market for the proposed Salween hydro-electricity.
"There is a feasibility study going on," said Piyasvasti of the Salween dam. "This is not at the investment stage yet."
Piyasvasti said Thailand's current priority was to buy hydro-electircity from Laos.
"We are brothers. We speak the same language and it's a lot easier to work with Laos. Burma will be further beyond on the time horizon."
Thailand and Laos share similar languages and cultures, but different political systems. Laos is one of the world's last communist regimes. Thailand has been experimenting with democracy for the past 75 years.
Piyasvasti has been a controversial energy minister in Thailand because he has pushed the government to put nuclear energy on its development plans.
"In the long run, we need to look at something which is sustainable, something which is cost effective, and something which doesn't worsen global warming," Piyasvasti told the World Bank seminar. "I think the only answer is nuclear."
Thailand's timeframe is to spend the next seven years preparing for nuclear energy use, then six years for construction before commissioning three to four plants by the year 2020.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121434
There was also an article by the World Bank local rep in The Nation today, which is obviously intended to give his organization's policy on dam-building a more serf-friendly mien:
Sustainable hydropower benefits all
Published on September 7, 2007
The "High-Level Forum on Lao-Thai Partnership in Sustainable Hydropower Development" being held in Bangkok today marks another milestone in the bilateral cooperation between Thailand and its close neighbour, the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
And the peoples of both countries stand to benefit.
The words "sustainable hydropower" reflect the growing recognition around the world that hydro projects need to benefit everyone involved: from the local villagers to the government; from the private or public investor to the energy consumer; from the country to the global community.
In the Lao PDR, the joint work between government, developers, donors, civil society and local communities is making it possible to develop financially-sound hydropower projects that are socially and environmentally responsible and will improve the living standards of its people.
Thailand, in turn, as the main buyer of energy from the Lao market, is showing its commitment to ensuring that the energy it is buying is socially and environmentally "clean"; that it is not supplying its thriving market with energy while damaging the environmental resources of its neighbour, but on the contrary, that it is helping its neighbour make the best use of its resources.
If we take a step back to look around the world, we can find examples that show that sustainable hydro can indeed benefit all stakeholders involved.
Hydropower, for example, can be one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to generate renewable energy; it does not produce the same harmful emissions as fossil fuels, such as natural gas, oil or coal. It can also reduce the impacts of catastrophic events such as floods and drought. In this way, hydro shows it can be globally beneficial.
If soundly implemented, hydropower projects can also improve environmental management while mitigating impacts, and can help improve the living standards of the local people. Hydro can thus benefit local communities.
Moreover, sustainable hydropower can provide enduring economic benefits through sustained revenue flows that can allow countries like the Lao PDR to reduce poverty and ensure benefits to all its citizens. Hydro can have countrywide benefits.
However, poorly planned hydropower development can pose significant environmental and social challenges. They can have adverse impacts on the aquatic ecosystems, involve displacement of a considerable number of people and alter the ecological landscape of an entire area.
To avoid this, great efforts must be made to minimise the social and environmental impacts and to ensure that the economic benefits of hydropower projects will be shared equally.
All stakeholders can, and should, benefit from hydro. But challenges need to be properly addressed if they are to be overcome, and that is also everyone's responsibility.
In this context, perhaps the most current example in the region of sustainable hydropower is the Nam Theun 2 project being developed in the Lao PDR.
It is a project where all involved are watching hard to ensure that resettled villagers will experience improved living standards; that the country will have access to needed revenue to invest in poverty reduction programmes; that an ecologically-rich watershed will be protected; that investors will obtain forecasted profits; and that part of the Thai energy demand will be economically met, among other things.
This project is a continuation of the partnership between Thailand and the Lao PDR in the development of hydropower that has nearly two decades of history, and that is being strengthened with the first "Lao-Thai High Level Forum on Sustainable Hydropower Development" taking place in Bangkok today.
Lao and Thai authorities, private developers, donor organisations, civil society and the media have come together to share lessons on past hydro developments and discuss how to ensure future projects are environmentally and socially sound, as well as financially viable.
All sides have lessons to share and things to learn from each other. But more importantly perhaps, all sides have a responsibility to ensure that Laos develops its resources in a way that is beneficial to its environment and to the Lao people, while at the same time beneficial to the Thai population and investors, as well as the global community.
It is time to look beyond "one-off" benefits, or to think of benefits as only for some and not for others. We can and should aim for benefits for all involved.
This first high-level forum taking place today is a major step in this direction. It will, of course, now be up to all of us to ensure that sustainable hydro power does benefit us all.
Ian C Porter
The writer is the World Bank country director for Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Mongolia, based in Bangkok.
Doubtless there is a necessity to keep Laos sweet by not pushing them too hard over the Hmong issue (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=2455). Such a Thai-Laos cooperation is likely to be far less troublesome and controversial than investing in projects on Myanmar's Salween River:
Laos urges to use Nam Theun II's standard with future dams
Laos will use the measures for social and environmental protection in the controversial Nam Theun II hydropower project as the standard for other dams to be built in future, a Lao minister said.
"I think it would be very good if any project, not only in our country, could follow this standard," said Lao Minister of Energy and Mines Borsaykham Vongdara.
He said the Nam Theun II project was a good example of a high standard environmental impact assessment (EIA) for development projects.
The World Bank, which is the main backer of the project, required the investors to allocate 10 per cent of $1 billion investment cost for environmental protection and social resettlement programmes.
The developers had to resettle more than 6,000 people from the area to be inundated to new sites to live and farm, as well as provide them facilities to improve their lives.
Nam Theun II is perhaps the most recent example in the region of responsible hydropower development, said Ian Porter, World Bank country director for Thailand and Laos.
Borsaykham was in Thailand yesterday for a World Bank sponsored high level forum on LaoThai partnership in sustainable hydropower development.
Thai Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand also attended the meeting to project Thailand's demand for electricity from Laos, its main supplier. Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase 5,000 MW from Laos by 2015, and proposed to buy an additional 2,000 MW after that period, he said.
Nam Theun II will provide 995 MW out of an installed capacity 1,088MW to Thailand by 2009. There are many other hydro power and coal fuelled projects in the pipeline, though environmentalists have expressed concern about their impact on the environment and society.
Projects to be built to supply power to Thailand are the Nam Theun Hinboun (extended phase), Nam Ngum III, Nam Theun I and Nam Ngiep I dams, and the Hong Sa coalfuelled plant. Thailand will sign the purchase agreements with these projects by the end of this year, Piyasvasti said.
Borsaykham said his government would follow the rules and standards set by the World Bank for the Nam Theun II as criteria for environment and social protection that investors and financiers of other projects would have to comply with.
Laos has the capacity to generate as much as 20,000MW of electricity by building more hydro power and coal fuelled projects. Vietnam and Cambodia are its other important customers.
Xaypaseuth Phomsoupha, deputy head of the Laos Energy Ministry's energy promotion department said his government had commissioned several investors, including from China, to conduct feasibility studies for at least four dams on the main Mekong River. These are the Don Sahong, Pak Lai, Pak Bang and Xayabouri dams, he said.
by Supalak G Khundee
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/07/regional/regional_30048179.php
10 September 2007
PM to ask Cabinet to consider power plant construction in Cambodia
Tomorrow (September 11th) at the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont is expected to request the Cabinet to consider the interim government’s investment in the construction of a water power plant in Cambodia.
Government Spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp (ยงยุทธ มัยลาภ) reports that the Permanent Secretary for Energy has informed him of the national energy situation via a videoconference meeting. According to the Permanent Secretary, energy production accounts for 14% of Thailand’s GDP. Gen. Surayud has therefore assigned the Ministry of Energy to study a construction of a water power plant in Cambodia at an area adjacent to Trat province.
The Spokesman says Gen. Surayud has also assigned the Energy Ministry to study an electricity generating technology implemented by the Philippines.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter04
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255009100044
jpatokal
11-09-07, 11:46 AM
Tomorrow (September 11th) at the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont is expected to request the Cabinet to consider the interim government’s investment in the construction of a water power plant in Cambodia.
I presume a "water power plant" is what the rest of us call a hydroelectric power station, that is, a dam?
Scroll down to post foot for a map of hydro-electric projects in Myanmar:
Statement of Salween Watch regarding the attack on the EGAT workers' camp of the Hat Gyi dam site
Following the September 2 blast at the workers' camp at Hat Gyi in Karen State, resulting in the death of another EGAT worker, Salween Watch would like to express our regret at this tragic event, and raise our concerns as follows:
1. We, the Salween Watch coalition, do not support the use of violence to solve problems. This tragic event has happened because EGAT's operations until now have been shrouded in secrecy. They have totally disregarded voices from civil society warning about the lack of security and extensive human rights abuses in the Salween River basin, where civil war between ethnic forces and the Burma Army has been continuing for over five decades.
2. EGAT's investment in dam projects has never taken into account the real costs and risks of operating in areas where fighting and human rights abuses are taking place. The price of the Salween projects now includes the lives of two EGAT workers, in addition to uncountable casualties among local people. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, many to Thailand, resulting in considerable health, social and economic burdens. If these costs were genuinely counted, the five hydropower projects on the Salween River in Burma would be found to be unacceptably high and unjustifiable.
3. These dam projects in Burma will pose a risk for Thailand's energy security, since the power plants will be located in exceptionally volatile areas, where numerous armed forces are in conflict. There is a constant risk of attack from various forces at any time.
4. To increase security for the construction of the dams, this incident is now being used to justify the increased deployment of Burmese troops in the area, directly contributing to the conflict. In the past decade there has already been an increase of 50 Burma Army battalions in Karen State alone, contributing to the displacement of over 500,000 people in Eastern Burma. Increased deployment will make the vulnerability of the internally displaced even more extreme.
This incident should serve as a lesson for EGAT. They must take responsibility for their failure to transparently and comprehensively consider the risks of operating in a war zone.
Salween Watch calls on EGAT to abandon all energy projects in Burma until genuine democracy is restored, conflicts are resolved and basic rights are respected, including the right to informed participation in decision-making processes.
http://www.salweenwatch.org/index.html
http://www.salweenwatch.org/photo_gallery%20files/dam_site450/salween_sands_and_gorge.jpg
[Photo: http://www.salweenwatch.org]
Download First Salween Watch newsletter (http://www.salweenwatch.org/downloads/Salween%20Watch_Vol%201%20August%202007-1%20FINAL.pdf)
Related thread in Maps forum:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=17027#post17027
[Mao: http://www.salweenwatch.org]
http://www.salweenwatch.org/maps/map_images/hydroproject.jpg
First as Tragedy, Second as Farce: PTT at a Crossroads
Matthew Smith
13 September 2007
When Karl Marx prophesied 150 years ago that "history repeats itself," he wasn't talking about human rights abuses in Asia. But today his words resonate as we face a nearly identical repeat of Southeast Asia's most unconscionable "development" project, right next door in Burma. And the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) is again poised to be complicit in human rights abuses.
Fortunately, there is still time to change course.
In the 1990s, the Yadana natural gas pipeline was constructed from the Andaman Sea across Tenasserim Division in southeast Burma, landing on the Thai side in Kanchanaburi Province. It involved multinational oil and gas corporations Total of France and the U.S.-based Unocal Corporation, the state-owned oil and gas enterprise in Burma (MOGE), and the now partially state-owned PTT Exploration and Production Company Ltd. (PTTEP), which at that point was wholly owned by the Thai government. In 1995, PTTEP signed a 30-year sales agreement with Burma to purchase the Yadana gas, setting off construction of the 260 kilometer gas pipeline.
Then the pipeline abuses began.
In Burma, the pipeline area was heavily militarized. Forced labor was used on project infrastructure, there was rape, extrajudicial killings, land confiscation, displacement, and other actions that violated the basic human rights of thousands of people. The corporations involved in this project were aware the abuses were happening in connection with their investments and did nothing to stop them, making them complicit.
With no access to justice in Burma, villagers sued Unocal and Total in US and French courts, respectively. The corporations paid out large financial settlements. A door had opened to hold non-state actors legally accountable for human rights abuses committed abroad, and the world took notice. PTTEP, however, was spared legal scrutiny due to a lack of international accountability mechanisms and the lack of political will in Thailand to hold the company accountable. The world took notice of this, too.
A particularly tragic element was that Thailand didn't actually need the energy produced by the Yadana gas. The National Economic and Social Advisory Council (NESAC) found that the Electricity Governing Authority of Thailand (EGAT) overestimated ten of eleven yearly forecasts of Thailand's electricity demand, in some cases by as much as 40 percent. So much for "supply and demand" economics. This means that innocent people died in Burma so that Thailand might have a wasteful and expensive surplus of energy.
This tragedy was recognized by Thai officials. In 1997, using phrases like "[our] greed for natural resources," former Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra stated " I regret very strongly that a company, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand...was part of a deal which bought gas from Burma...I think that - for better or worse - we have blood on our hands."
Apparently blood washes off easily.
Fast forwarding to today, PTT is actively pursuing at least two large natural gas deposits in Burma, as both a purchaser and developer. In 2004, Daewoo International of South Korea discovered part of what is now considered Southeast Asia's largest natural gas deposit in Burma's Bay of Bengal. This gas project is dubbed Shwe - meaning gold in Burmese - and is being developed by Korean and Indian companies in partnership with the military regime in Burma. Potential buyers of the gas are lining up in a fierce bidding war, including India, China, Korea, Japan, and of course, Thailand. This gas will most likely be sold to China, but that hasn't stopped PTT's bidding efforts.
Like Yadana, PTT has put in a bid to buy the gas and pipe it across Burma for consumption in Thailand. Meanwhile, PTT has also been busy exploring for commercially viable natural gas deposits in Burma's Gulf of Martaban, which last month resulted in the discovery of a "high amount of natural gas," according to a company spokesman. A pipeline from there is likely, too.
Yet Thailand's energy needs are again thought to be overestimated, this time in the 2007 Power Development Plan (PDP) recently released by the Ministry of Energy (MOE), which is a 15 year forecast. The report is not widely available but has already come under fire. Analysts point to inaccurate estimations of energy demand, a lack of Thai public participation in the process, and a concerning ignorance to global warming and the serious need to plan for alternative energy sources.
By EGAT's own admission, Thailand's energy reserve margin in 2006 was at least 7 percent higher than the international standard, which in economic terms is enormous.
While this scenario is costing the Thai people and the environment hugely, to say nothing of Burma, certain stakeholders benefit just fine. EGAT, for one, has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo in terms of energy sources (i.e. fossil fuels), and in terms of keeping a "high demand."
Currently, Thailand's energy producers are the same people estimating energy demand. This is a blatant conflict of interest.
Thailand relies heavily on natural gas. Too heavily. A recent study by the consulting firm ERM-Siam, commissioned by the Thai government, shows natural gas may not even be the cheapest fuel for power generation in Thailand as its price correlates with unstable global oil prices. Nevermind that, though.
Continued in next post
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=206
Continued from previous post: According to Supara Janchitfah, "EGAT and related agencies still go about their business in the same old way, using the same old arguments."
This is a global phenomenon. The Oil & Gas Journal reports that a staggering 10,000 miles of pipelines will be laid on our planet in 2007, 75 percent of which will be for natural gas. Of all the world's regions, Asia will lead this year in new natural gas pipelines, constructing nearly 3,000 miles worth.
The largest gas project currently being developed in Burma is the Shwe project (pronounced Shh-way) mentioned above. It has elicited an international opposition - the Shwe Gas Movement - led by people from Arakan State in western Burma. The movement is demanding the gas project stop until local people can be included in development decisions, decisions that will seriously - and in some cases fatally - affect their lives. These demands are not pulled from thin air, but reflect international standards and a basic affirmation of human dignity and freedom. In other words, the movement is demanding corporate responsibility and accountability and the recognition and protection of their human rights. So far, no corporations have been willing to engage them, despite repeated efforts, and the regime in Burma continues to violate their human rights.
If PTT constructed a Shwe pipeline from western Burma to Thailand it would be at least four times the length of the previous Yadana pipeline, with the potential for a correspondingly gross number of attendant human rights abuses. Likewise, a PTT pipeline from the Gulf of Martaban would mirror Yadana in the most uncomfortable of ways.
Already there is an unfortunate international skepticism of Thailand regarding the military coup, increasing violence in the South, and human rights abuses at home. Can the Kingdom afford to be complicit in human rights abuses in Burma?
With or without Thailand, the abuses in Burma are widespread and systematic, meaning they are part of the state's larger plan to keep the diverse 54 million people in check. Just ask the more than 1,200 political prisoners enduring prison conditions that make Guantanamo look like day care. The Burma military's policies openly target the ethnic nationalities comprising 40% of the population. Just ask the thousands of ethnic women who have been selective victims of brutal rape by the Burma army, or the over 30,000 Karen villagers who last year fled the attacks of the Burma army in the eastern part of the country (and continue to do so). These numbers are rising steadily. There is no independent judiciary in Burma, no free press, not one elected official; forced labor, child soldiers, and landmines abound; international laws and standards are flouted. The Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in 1990 elections that the military refused to recognize, remains in house arrest, despite a recent UN call for her release.
What is Thailand's answer to all of this? Investment. Thailand's gas imports from Burma exceed US$1.5 billion per annum, providing the military regime in Burma with approximately 30% of its hard currency. But that currency is not spent improving lives in Burma. As just one example, in 2006, Burma ranked last in the world in public health expenditures, according to the 2006 UN Human Development Report, and the country consistently ranks among the world's least developed. Rather than use gas revenues to change that, the regime's elite are busy growing increasingly wealthy and stockpiling expensive military hardware from India and China while millions of Burmese languish and, in tragic irony, flee into Thailand and India.
Marx's quote from 1852 actually suggests that history repeats itself "the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." The Yadana gas pipeline was a tragedy. Thailand's involvement was a tragedy. The human rights abuses were a tragedy. PTT is at a crossroads, and if it continues investing in Burma's oil and gas industry, it will do so in spite of the many victims of human rights abuses and in spite of Thailand's own development. It will be a mockery, a foolish show, a ridiculous sham. In other words, a farce.
The good news for Thailand is that it doesn't have to be this way. The government and PTT can actually act to help change things for the better, influencing the regime in Burma to end its brutal "war" rather than lining its pockets with hard currency. Despite the problems with Thailand's own energy sector, will it take the noble course and officially condemn development-related human rights abuses in Burma? Or will PTT simply sign more contracts to facilitate unnecessary imports, moving Thailand closer to a bubble economy while enriching a brutal regime?
Matthew Smith is a Project Coordinator of the Burma Project with Earth Rights International (ERI), an NGO based in Washington D.C. ERI represented plaintiffs in Doe v. Unocal Corporation.
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=206
This site doesn't actually mention PTT's interest just yet, although maps show there are some uncontracted gas blocks as yet. It is worth noting that the pipelines intended to take such gas to India and China would be extremely long, and would undoubtedly cause huge interference in the livelihoods of peasant farmers etc. in just Myanmar alone:
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=206
http://www.shwe.org/
The SHWE Gas Movement is concerned with a natural gas pipeline project presently unfolding in Western Burma
In cooperation with Burma's military junta, a consortium of Indian and Korean corporations are currently exploring gas fields off the coast of Arakan State in Western Burma. Discovered in December 2003, these fields--labeled A-1, or "Shwe" (the Burmese word for gold)--are expected to hold one of the largest gas yields in Southeast Asia. These Shwe fields are destined to become the Burmese military government's largest single source of foreign income.
However, for the people of Burma this project will likely bring more suffering than benefits. It is the opinion of the SHWE Gas Movement that the following issues are very likely outcomes if the pipeline project goes ahead unchecked:
.......... See website fot the rest of the introduction. (http://www.shwe.org/)
[Both Maps: http://www.shwe.org]
http://www.shwe.org/images/OnG-blocks-final2.jpg/image_preview
http://www.shwe.org/images/Pipeline%20routes%20India-China.gif/image_preview
I think I'll just link this article, as these Sunday Perspective articles tend to remain on line longer:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/160907_Perspective/16Sep2007_pers001.php
Egat threatens to move coal plants to Laos
YUTHANA PRAIWAN
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) plans to develop coal-fired power plants in neighbouring countries to serve Thailand's power demand unless local anti-coal activists stop protesting, says Egat governor Kraisi Karnasuta.
Under the new Power Development Plan, Egat is required to build new coal-fired electricity generating plants with a total capacity of 2,800 megawatts (MW).
Additional power from new coal-fired plants would need to come online between 2014 and 2016.
Egat has faced strong opposition to its proposal to build two coal-fired electricity plants: Hin Krut and Bo Nok in Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
Both coal-fired plants were aborted following strong protests from anti-coal activists and local communities who fear environmental damage. The total capacity of the two plants was 2,100 MW.
About 14% of all electricity comes from coal used by BLCP in Rayong province and Mae Moh in Lampang. About 4% of electricity comes from hydro plants.
A coal-fired power plant would require a capital investment of around 2.8 billion baht for construction. Egat is negotiating with Banpu Plc, Thailand's largest coal miner, to acquire a stake in the coal-fired Hongsa Lignite plant in Laos, with an aim to hold at least a 25% stake.
Egat would acquire the stake through its subsidiary, which has yet to decide whether it would fall under Ratchaburi Holding Plc or Egat International Co.
Hongsa is located in northern Laos, with a total capacity of 1,800 MW _ most would be bought by Thailand starting in 2015.
Egat plans to sign a power purchasing agreement (PPA) with hydropower operators and the Laotian government during this government's mandate. The four projects are Nam Ngiep I (260 MW), Nam Ngum III (460 MW), Nam Theun I (523 MW) and Theun-Hinboun, which is to expand by 280 MW. The projects would be in full operation by 2012-14.
Egat is preparing a public relations offensive to attract support for its electricity projects.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/18Oct2007_biz39.php
EGAT ready to sign purchase deals for four projects in Laos
YUTHANA PRAIWAN
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) expects to sign power purchasing agreements (PPA) with hydroelectric plant operators in Laos by the end of the year, says governor Kraisi Karnasuta.
The four projects with a combined capacity of 1,460 megawatts (MW) are all scheduled to start commercial operations between 2012 and 2014.
Theun Hinboun Power Co, a Laotian government-run company, yesterday signed a tariff agreement with Egat, which will lead shortly to the first PPA for total capacity of 220 MW. Operations will begin in 2012.
Other power generating projects, including Nam Ngum 3, will be operated by The Great Mekong Subregion Co and Marubeni Corporation of Japan. The 440 MW project will start up in 2013.
Gamuda of Malaysia and Egco Group Plc have joined together to operate Nam Theun 1, which has a capacity of 523 MW and will start operations by 2013.
The Nam Ngiep project, operated by Egat in conjunction with Kansai Electric of Japan, will start producing 277 MW of electricity by 2014.
However, the 1,800-MW Hongsa Lignite power plant, operated by the SET-listed coal miner Banpu Plc, is expected to sign a PPA agreement after the December election. This is mainly because Banpu has yet to wrap up a deal with its prospective strategic partners.
Thailand has a concrete agreement to purchase a total of 5,000 MW of electricity from the Laotian government. The National Legislative Assembly is expected to approve the purchase of an additional 2,000 MW from Laos.
The 210-MW Theun Hinboun and 150-MW Houay Ho hydropower plants have provided power to Thailand since 1998.
Four of Egat's natural gas-fuelled electricity plants now under construction are scheduled to start production between 2008 and 2010 with a total capacity of 2,800 MW.
Although the projects have been delayed due to constraints on equipment supplies, the contractors and suppliers have agreed to accelerate construction to meet deadlines.
Siemens of Germany and Marubeni of Japan, which are building the Chana electricity plant in Songkhla, have an agreement with Egat to finish the project by the first quarter of 2008, but it will be delayed to the second quarter.
Mitsubishi of Japan and Sino Thai Engineering and Construction Plc, the contractors of the Southern Bangkok Power Plant, said they would finish construction six months ahead of the October 2008 deadline.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/26Oct2007_biz29.php
See also thread in Laos subforum:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=2013
EGAT mulls Cambodian power project
Published on November 2, 2007
Investors from China have courted the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) over a joint investment in a US$4.5-billion (Bt153 billion) power-plant project in Cambodia, Egat deputy governor Sombat Sarntijaree said yesterday.
Sombat said the state agency was conducting a feasibility study of the project, which would generate a total of 3,000 megawatts of electricity and use imported coal as fuel.
Egat was approached four years ago, but at the time considered the project was not financially viable since it aimed to produce only 1,400MW.
He said that if EGAT now decided to participate, its upcoming subsidiary Egat International would be responsible for the investment.
The Cabinet has already approved the establishment of EGAT International, which will be capitalised at Bt50 million. Its formation is expected to be completed either this year or early next.
A source at the Energy Ministry said Italian-Thai Development was also conducting a feasibility study into developing a coal-fired power plant in Cambodia with an electricity generating capacity of 1,600MW, of which 1,400MW would be sold to Thailand.
Energy Reporters
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/11/02/business/business_30054573.php
Thailand to buy coal from Myanmar to generate electricity
Thailand will buy coal from Myanmar for electricity generating as coal reserves are sufficient to last up to 200 years.
Governor of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), Kraisri Karnasuta (ไกรสีห์ กรรณสูต), says Thailand needs to buy other fuels to generate electricity as oil prices have been continuously increasing and reserves of natural gas in the Gulf of Thailand will not be sufficient in the future. EGAT will therefore buy high-quality coal from Myanmar which have low sulfur and do not cause sulfur dioxide gas.
Apart from electricity generating from coal, the governor says it is necessary for the country to expedite the study of nuclear power plants to produce more electricity to meet increasing demands for electricity in the future. He adds that electricity generating from coal has very low cost of production, resulting in cheaper electricity prices.
The governor also assures people of safety of electricity generating from coals.
EGAT and the ITALIAN-THAI Development Plc. will jointly invest in a project to develop coal power plants at Cambodia.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter05
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255011050003
See also previous post in this thread today
Chinese make move
Published on November 21, 2007
MDX, Ratchaburi face threat in huge power schemes
In China's quest for energy security, Chinese companies have penetrated into the power-generating business in Burma and Laos, a move which could threaten the presence of Thai companies operating in the countries.
Agence France-Presse reported that the semi-official weekly Myanmar Times said on Monday that a Chinese power company had joined the Tasang Dam project in eastern Shan state on the Salween River, the longest undammed river in Southeast Asia, taking up a 51-per-cent stake.
Quoting a Burmese official, the paper said Thai company MDX's stake was now reduced to 24 per cent, with the government holding 25 per cent. MDX declined to confirm the report.
An MDX official also told the news agency that it was considering reducing its stake in the controversial hydropower project, the biggest in the military-run country.
"We are looking for a business partner to go ahead with the project, and we are considering reducing our stake," the official said on condition of anonymity.
MDX has invested about US$6 billion (Bt203 billion) in the Tasang Dam project.
The Thai company has held an 85-per-cent stake in the project, with the rest owned by Burma's military government, which is under global pressure over its deadly repression of pro-democracy protests in Rangoon in September.
Agence France-Presse also quoted state media as reporting in April that the Tasang Dam's construction began in March. With a capacity of 7,110 megawatts, the project is scheduled for completion in 2022. Thailand is expected to receive 85 per cent of the electricity from the hydropower dam, with the rest going to Burma.
Three more dams on the Salween near the Thailand-Burma border are in the pipeline, mostly backed by Chinese state-owned energy companies.
The US and Europe have imposed economic sanctions against the junta due to its human rights abuses and the ongoing detention of democracy leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
But energy-hungry neighbours like Thailand, China and India are keen to exploit the country's abundant natural resources, including energy, natural gas and timber, throwing an economic lifeline to the military junta.
Meanwhile, in Laos, a Chinese company has also shown interest in joining Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, Banpu and the Lao government in the $2.6-billion Hongsa Lignite power project. (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=18271&postcount=9)
Ratchaburi and Banpu Power will hold 40 per cent each in the project while the Lao government will take up 20 per cent. Ratchaburi would also invest in another joint venture with Banpu to develop a coal mine in Laos, which would supply the power plant. The firm and Banpu would each hold a 37.5-per-cent stake in the joint venture, while the Lao government would hold the rest, the statement said.
In the case of investment from the Chinese company, Ratchaburi's stake in the power plant and mining venture would be reduced to 30 per cent and 28.125 per cent, respectively, Ratchaburi said in a statement.
Deputy managing director Thawat Vimolsarawong said recently that equity participation from the Chinese company was a condition of the Lao government. He had no knowledge of the name of the Chinese investor.
The Hongsa plant is expected to begin selling power to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand in March 2013. With a 40-per-cent stake in the project, Ratchaburi's combined capacity would increase from 661 megawatts to 5,160.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/11/21/business/business_30056827.php
Related thread on Thai interests in Laos power gen:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=18271#post18271
Related thread on Thai interests in Myanmar power gen:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=2736
See also previous post in this thread today
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/11/21/business/business_30056827.php
Related thread on Thai interests in Laos power gen:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=18271#post18271
Related thread on Thai interests in Myanmar power gen:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=2736
Parts of the quoted thread are already out of late, as China has now taken a 51% stake in Myanmar's Tasang Hydro Project. See this thread for details:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=18305#post18305
See also full post of this report in thread on Laos Hydro-Electricity projects:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=2013
.....
These purchase agreements by Thailand are based on assumptions that its energy demand will grow at 5.95 percent annually from 2007 to 2011, going by GDP growth of 5 percent.
But that is exactly where the problem lies, say activists and critics who argue that the questionable [assumptions] are fuelling over-investment in power plants at home and in buying electricity from overseas that this country does not really need.
......
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40858
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