EGAT connects 500 kV high-voltage transmission lines to Southern Thailand, doubling electricity supply capability
23 May 2022EGAT started supplying electricity via the first 500 kV transmission lines of the Southern Thailand to double the capability of electricity supply from the Central to the South, boost power system security of the South, and aid the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Mr. Kitti Petchsanthad, Deputy Governor – Transmission System of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) said that EGAT has completed the Transmission System Improvement Project in Western and Southern Regions to Enhance System Security, Phase 1 before starting supplying electricity via the 500 kV transmission lines from Bang Saphan-2 Substation in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province to Surat Thani-2 Substation in Surat Thani Province and Phuket-3 Substation. With the total length of 504 km, the transmission lines double the capability of electricity supply from the Central to the South, or from 700 MW to 1,600 MW. It is also regarded the first 500 kV transmission lines of the Southern Thailand.
This transmission system improvement project aims to alleviate inadequate capacity of the power system in the southern region when compared to the demand, leading to a need for electricity supplied from the central region. After the project had been approved, EGAT began the construction of the transmission lines, phase 1 at the end of 2016 and started supplying the electricity via the lines at the end of April, 2022. The transmission lines will support the increasing power demand in southern and tourism provinces as the COVID-19 crisis eases, especially in Phuket which is one of the largest consumers of electricity in the southern region and is in a tourism economic zone. This project also improves the capability of electricity supply in Phuket to reach 1,170 MW and reduces the risk of blackout in the southern provinces due to the failure of transmission lines connected between the Central and the South.