Electricity Power Cuts

please any one can help me. i want to know if have problem ( cut electric power stop) today and monday for more hours after 20:00 the place near to kut sa. you make to me so happy if i know that. thanks

Power cuts are common in the villages around Udon. A couple each month. Fortunately they only last a few minutes although on a few occasions several hours. They do seem to occur more during the rainy season.

I would say we get about 20 power failures a month during the rainy season (any heavy rain or puff of wind is enough to cause it). That's an average over a 7 year period. About 50% last a few seconds (not enough for the ceiling fan to stop spinning, but enough to "crash" the laptop), the rest last between one and six hours depending on the weather (if it's raining hard it seems to take them longer to get there ).

The number to call to report a power outage is 1129, they have english speaking telephonists.

parrot wrote:I'm almost afraid to upset the good electrical juju that's been in our village the past year.....but:
We went through a long period of too-frequent power outages, many time if there was only drizzle in the air. The ". Only after I befriended an engineer at the TOT office did the situation change. We still have periodic phone outages, but they are generally resolved within 24 hours.

"The squeaky wheel gets the grease."

Your lucky I think I made enemies of the entire office by going through the Bangkok branch before things improved for me .

I think I made enemies of the entire office

Really ........ you did............. I wouldn't have guessed in a million years

kosa wrote:please any one can help me. i want to know if have problem ( cut electric power stop) today and monday for more hours after 20:00 the place near to kut sa. you make to me so happy if i know that. thanks

Not to worry this is the norm around Thailand now a day, I can recall back in the mid 1970s when I first set feet in this fair land power outages was an all night thing, and you were lucky if it was back by mid day the following day.

Worst year for power outages we have had in 10 years. I've just bought and set up a small 1.5Kw generator. Enough for the lights, refrigeration, desk top PC (on UPS also), and TV's (of coarse). Had it a week and used it 3 times already.

here in the leafy suburbs known as Nongnakham or villages around it, there has been a spate of power cuts three over 8 hours in order for the Electricity company known as EGAT to upgrade the High Voltage lines. We normally have mini powere cuts during the rainy season due to in the main, either bad maintainance, lack of planning on their behalf as they build more houses, they seem to forget that these house need more electricity and the system just cannot cope also although thay can cut tress down around power lines that bit seems to escape them hence every storm brings problems. The final thing is that the switch off is always on the main road, so even if a village some 4 kms from the main road causes a problem everyone has to suffer, my village, and another on some 500 people for a tree down or power line damaged elsewhere.

You have to realise that as customers we are in fat on the bottom of the important pile, even the 1129 free phone with suposedly English operators has broken so in order to get the English operator you now have to dial 0 at the appropriate time and ask for english in Thai to get a English speaking operator and then they ask you if you are you and then ask if it is only you or the rest of village without Electricity and then ask you for your address.

Hopefully now that they have finsihed working on the High voltage line it will get better but I doubt it, I too am considering a small generator to supply my freezers, as due to these outages I have had to replace one electric shower and one freezer motor, so any advice would be appreciated.

stattointhailand wrote:I would say we get about 20 power failures a month during the rainy season (any heavy rain or puff of wind is enough to cause it). That's an average over a 7 year period. About 50% last a few seconds (not enough for the ceiling fan to stop spinning, but enough to "crash" the laptop), the rest last between one and six hours depending on the weather (if it's raining hard it seems to take them longer to get there ).

The number to call to report a power outage is 1129, they have english speaking telephonists.

Curious as to how it manages to 'crash' your laptop...no battery in it? Or do you mean that you lose internet (due to the modem/router losing power)?

For me, one of the only advantages of using a big old clunky HP bulldozer of a laptop is that it's power-failure proof. Got a 1400 baht UPS for my modem and router, so I can surf for a couple of hours when the power goes down...

if you are going to buy a generator, buy the biggest you can afford, perhaps 2 to 5KVA..diesil powered, electric start, with built in battery charger.. Those Lister's made in India are ok, as parts are always available, you will need a small shed to house it in, as it is not the mobile kind..and that is a point to consider...do you want to wander around with the thing, or use it in the rice field down the road......really you should have a look at what you want to power, read the design label say on a hairdryer for its power output ( hairdryers , electric tools, toasters, take alot of power just to get them started) ..

so if you read the label on the back of the fridge, freezer, tv, computer, and other things you might need to power in the event of a power cut, then add up the total number of watts output, which might come to 1,000w, 1500w, or 2000w or whatever, then you will have some idea of what size generator ( kva) you will need...I have gone thru afew generators in my time, as I live where there is no power or infrastructure..my house is solar powered but I have generator backup..

I found the type with the pull cord tend to fail after awhile, cord breaks, or the cord retraction spring looses its mojo..also old fellas and pull starts are a bane..I broke my ribs several times and pulling that little mother was a curse I can tell you..pulling one apart to repair is a nightmare.The petrol ones are costly to run, maybe not so much in Thailand, but it all adds up..

a 5kva generator should run the whole house, plus the workshop..you have got to watch out for some automatic washing machines, they dont always like generators...you will no when a generator is struggling to meet power demand, when the engine noise slows down when you switch the electrical item on.....all I can say is go big, go diesil and go electric start..if you have it in a shed out back, you can still rig a switch in the house to turn it on, rather than walk out to the shed to start it....

Ps..sorry, or it will come on automatically when you go to use the power..I guess most of the members are already hooked up to the National Grid, and the house is wired as such..still a good electrican should be able to put in a device where you can swap from National Grid to generator, but not when both are running at once..no no..failing that you will have to run standard power leads /cords from the generator to the house and a junction box where the other items can run off..might need a transformer in there somewheres..

Anyone know a solar energy (back-up cells) company that does installs??

Figure that would be the way to go for back-up power. Not sure if the electric company pays you for the power you provide the grid.

Mosquito wrote:Anyone know a solar energy (back-up cells) company that does installs??

Figure that would be the way to go for back-up power. Not sure if the electric company pays you for the power you provide the grid.

You would need a VERY large and expensive system to produce enough power to sell back to the power company. The grid-tie (or synchronous) inverter alone would be a major investment.

And I'm not sure what you mean by 'back-up cells'. Solar (photovoltaic) cells generate electricity when the sun shines on them, and are not a back-up source of power. If you use the electricity they produce to charge batteries, and then run your house on the batteries when the power grid goes down, then the batteries are the 'back-up' source.

110 watt solar panels are typically several hundred dollars each, so buying enough of them to run a toaster would be several thousand dollars, plus the inverter and installation.

In any case, I think you are mixing up two concepts: solar powering your house (and selling the excess power), and backup power, provided by solar charging batteries. If you need the former, better get rich first, or learn to live VERY simply, and if it's the latter, buy a generator - it's much less technically demanding and less hassle than maintaining a solar and battery system.

So, definitely out of my price range..............

Can survive without power for a day or two, so long as I have enough batteries to keep the 3 battery powered fans running.