Thailand will record a new peak for power demand this summer because of the extraordinary heat.

Daily Xpress

"Due to the higher temperatures, we expect this year's peak will be definitely higher than last year's," said Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand governor Sombat Santijaree.

On Monday, provinces such as Tak saw the mercury soar to 41 degrees Celcius as national power demand skyrocketed to 22,500 megawatts. The figure was close to the all-time-high of 22,586MW recorded on April 24, 2007.

Sombat said each one-degree increase in temperature would raise power demand by about 400MW. He added that power demand could peak late this month or early in May.

Energy cost

He insisted that Egat was ready for higher demand but said the public should minimise consumption to save energy costs. Higher energy efficiency would help reduce the impact of global warming, he said.

On Friday, Egat will replace conventional lightbulbs in 400 temples and 100 mosques with energy-saving bulbs as part of the Energy Ministry's 11 measures to reduce consumption. It will also distribute 15 to 20 energy-saving bulbs to each of the remaining 48,000 temples and 3,700 mosques.