Electrical eyesores going underground
PUBLISHED : 2 Sep 2023 at 05:00
LOEI: The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) in this northeastern province is set to relocate electric transformers underground in touristy Chiang Khan district to prevent fires in the old community where many wooden houses are over a century old.
Komkrit Siriyutthaseanyakorn, head of the Public Works and Town and Country Planning’s Loei Office, said installing underground transformers in Chiang Khan district will boost safety for those who run businesses and live in wooden houses.
Moving transformers from street power poles underground will also provide more stable power and give the district’s landscape a neater look with power cables no longer visible, he said.
Chiang Khan district is known for its longstanding riverine community next to the Mekong River, which pulls in over 4-5 million visitors per year and makes more than a billion baht in tourism-related revenue.
Praphan Srinuan, deputy governor of the Council of Engineers Thailand, said the PEA has conducted a survey and prepared designs for the underground transformers along Chiang Khan Walking Street.
Also, the Asean Federation of Engineering Organisations and the Engineering Institute of Thailand have proposed making Chiang Khan district the first smart city for low-carbon underground transformers, he added.
The PEA’s deputy director of the transmission system design division, Siriwit Pornpanwatcharadech, said the PEA will adopt a transformer model designed by Chulalongkorn University.
Once the chance of fires destroying the wooden houses in the area is eliminated, safety for residents, tourists and PEA officials will be almost guaranteed.
Mr Siriwit said this will boost local tourism and businesses, cut carbon emissions and increase usable green space.
Sombat Vanichprapa, consultant to the Chula Smart City project, said the move to put transformers and power cables underground was successful in the Siam Square area, helping make Bangkok’s city centre a tourist favourite and providing safety for pedestrians.
The underground transformer model, or low-carbon submersible transformer, has been praised by many state agencies, including the Ministry of Energy, the National Innovation Agency and the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation.
The model was recognised at the 2023 Thailand Energy Awards and 2023 Asean Energy Awards.