Bangkok 2 Jul- EGAT together with all sectors Preparing water and power plant management plans to cope with El Niño Found that every dam had only 48% of total water. Watch out for dams that risk less water. Adjust the plan to have sufficient reserves for consumption and preserving the ecosystem until next year.
Mr. Charan Kam-ngern, Deputy Governor-Generation The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) revealed the need to manage water and power plants during conditions with less rainfall than usual. Because the weather in Thailand has entered the El Niño state, resulting in less rain than usual. The cumulative amount of precipitation is less than every year. El Niño conditions will continue until early 2024 and intensify. Therefore, it is necessary to plan water management in the next 2 years and prepare short-term, medium-term and long-term water management plans to support such situations. to prevent water shortage problems in the future
The water situation of EGAT dams as of July 1, 2023, there is water in 12 large and medium-sized reservoirs totaling 29,720 million cubic meters, accounting for 48% of the capacity, of which 8,027 million cubic meters of usable volume is 21 % of working capacity which is 3,006 million cubic meters less than last year during the same period Although it has been in the rainy season for more than 1 month, there is still only a small amount of water filling the reservoir. The El Niño influence is expected to result in a small amount of water flowing into the reservoir. Especially large reservoirs in the Chao Phraya and Mae Klong river basins. From the assessment of the rainfall and runoff situation in the ONE MAP system, it was found that there was a chance that the amount of water would be less than the average. Water management during the rainy season is therefore necessary to adjust the drainage plan to be in line with the situation according to the 12 rainy season countermeasures of the National Water Directorate.
EGAT has prepared an action plan to handle the water situation during the rainy season, consisting of
1.) Review and improve the criteria for water management in reservoirs. Especially dams that are at risk of having
The amount of water is low, such as Sirikit Dam, Uttaradit Province, Vajiralongkorn Dam, Kanchanaburi Province, and Chulabhorn Dam. and Huai Kum Dam, Chaiyaphum Province
2.) Prepare Repair and improvement of hydraulic buildings Telemeter water drainage system ready for use
3.) Check the security of embankments, embankments, and water barriers
4.) Accelerate water storage in reservoirs at the end of the rainy season
5.) Create public awareness and public relations.
6.) Follow up and evaluate results based on reservoir management guidelines for efficiency and maximum benefit according to the main objectives of water consumption for consumption, preserving the ecosystem, agriculture, industry and other activities, respectively, with electricity generation as a by-product. from drainage for such purposes
In addition, EGAT has also prepared a plan and adjusted water use measures of the power plant to be more efficient in response to the El Niño situation, such as increasing the reserve water system from groundwater. Procurement of pumps for water transfer canal repair Plan electricity production to match water costs. Increase the efficiency of water use in the power generation process. Effectively control the amount of raw water consumption. Take the used water into the wastewater treatment process and reuse the water. as well as campaigning to save water in power plants and offices. This is to enable the electricity generation of all types of power plants. Able to produce and distribute electricity to the people with confidence in all situations. – Thai News Agency
Source: Thai News Agency