EGAT is planning to develop a 500 kV transmission line to ensure power security in southern Thailand. The proposed line will connect Bang Saphan district in Prachuap Khiri Khan (located in central Thailand) to Surat Thani and Phuket (located in southern Thailand). The line is expected to entail an investment of 60 billion baht. Once approved by EGAT’s board, the first phase of the project will be completed within six years. The line is planned in response to the blackout that the region faced on May 21, 2013, after a thunderstorm cut the only 500 kV transmission line in service. The region is served by two high voltage transmission lines from the central area, but on that day the other line was down for maintenance.
