50 % electricity cut in the pipeline: DPM
PUBLISHED: 4 Feb 2025 at 04: 56
According to Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai on Monday, the government will cut 50 % of energy resources to areas in Myanmar that are suspected of being used by criminal cartels to run their businesses.
He pledged it after the Interior Ministry and the Provincial Electricity Authority ( PEA ) met on Monday to discuss the plan to reduce electricity supplies in areas with links to illegal activity.
Mr Phumtham, who is also a deputy prime minister, said the Foreign Affairs Ministry did tell Myanmar about the decision, which is expected to impact many Burmese cities along the frontier, for as Shwe Kokko in Myawaddy opposite Tak’s Mae Sot area. They are known to host online fraud syndicates. He promised to visit Mae Sot district on Thursday to check the position along the Thai-Myanmar boundary, and then he would issue an order to cut the area’s power provide by 50 %.
The Defense Minister emphasized that if it can be demonstrated that the area in question is being used by criminal gangs, the NSC has the power to shut off power resources to an area without case acceptance.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the government has contacted the NSC to point out the locations in Myanmar where scammers and other criminals are active.
” If we can confirm the information, the Interior Ministry is ready to cut off the electricity offer”, said Mr Anutin, who is also a Deputy Prime Minister.
NSC Secretary-General Chatchai Bangchuad stated that government will carefully review all pertinent information before deciding to stop energy supplies to companies along the Thai-Myanmar borders.
According to Mr. Chatchai,” Any decision to cut off strength must take into account PEA’s energy supply contracts and the potential effects on people in the neighboring country.”
Following China’s demand for Thailand to stop providing solutions to the hoax groups in Myawaddy, which are targeting Chinese citizens, Mr. Chatchai stated that he had discussed the matter with representatives from the Interior Ministry, Peas, armed forces, and intellect agencies.
He said there is evidence of transnational criminal syndicate activities in Tachileik, opposite Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, Myawaddy, which borders Tak province, and Payathonzu, which is adjacent to Kanchanaburi province.
Mr. Chatchai claimed that some of these con artist syndicates appear to be connected to casino owners in Myanmar operating across the border.
Some of these venues have requested an increase in power supply, but their requests were turned down because they failed to state the cause of the increase, he said.
Prior to shutting off power supplies, PEA deputy governor Prasit Junprasit stated that the PEA will conduct surveys in areas thought to be run by criminal gangs.
Mr. Anutin wrote a letter to the NSC last week asking for information on illegal activity in five of the areas where the PEA provides electricity.
Although the ministry has the authority to halt the supply of power to these areas, he said, we require more information from other organizations.
Despite repeated requests, the government has been accused of dragging its feet on the matter because it hasn’t yet taken decisive action to stop the flow of criminal syndicates across the border.
Some people have suggested that coalition rifts are making the crackdown effort more difficult.