‘Power shortage’ if newcomers win gas deals
Thailand could face a power shortage in 2020 and 2021 if newcomers win the upcoming petroleum auctions and current gas producers cut their investments prior to the handover, a senior energy official has warned. Prasert Sinsukprasert, deputy director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office, told a seminar held by the Economic Reporters Association on 22 June that the recent decision by the National Energy Policy Council to organize open bidding for the Erawan and Bongkot gas fields to find new operators after the current concessions expire in 2022-2023, put the country’s energy-supply security at risk.
