The Thai Energy Ministry has set up a “war room” in preparation for the temporary suspension of the natural gas supply delivery from Burma’s Yetagun Field, beginning on 31 December to 14 January, according to a Thai News Service report on Friday.

Mr. Pongsak Raktapongpisan, the Energy Minister, stated that the suspension period has been rescheduled; it was initially supposed to begin on December 25th and last till January 8th. He reassured the public that the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) would be able to produce enough power for public consumption during the period.

According to him, power consumption rate during the long holidays will be significantly lower than usual, as most of the factories will be closed during this time of year. Power consumption during the period is expected to be only around 20,000 megawatts.

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Currently, the EGAT has the capacity to generate 32,000 megawatts of electricity, he added.

The war room will make sure that there will be enough supply of electricity for factories located in the power-hungry areas such as Bangkok and nearby provinces, from 8- 10 January, the period when most factories normally resume their operations, Mr. Pongsak said.

Although the EGAT produces 32,000 megawatts of electricity, it might have problems supplying manufacturing plants during that period, given Bangkok and nearby provinces consume up to 9,000 megawatts.