Public input lacking
Concerned citizens are finding it next to impossible to participate in the energy development policies which have a profound impact on their lives.
Manas Kaewlom and some 600 of his neighbours from Huay Yang village and nearby communities in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Thap Sakae district never wanted to come to Bangkok, but the news that the Ministry of Energy (MoE) would conduct a public hearing on energy planing and the new Power Development Plan (PDP) prompted them to make the trip in a caravan of rented buses. Manas said that what drove him to come to a city where he feels he doesn't belong was the news that the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) had planned to build more coal-fired power plants in his area.They spent the whole night travelling, although the distance between Thap Sakae and Bangkok is only around 300 kilometres and normally takes less than four hours. They were blocked along the way and questioned by uniformed officers. They were finally allowed to proceed, as they insisted on their right to express their ideas in line with the Office of the Prime Minister's regulations on public hearings.
''The officials asked who hired us to protest. We told them that it (the energy plan) affected our well being and our livelihood,'' said Manas, a small-scale fisherman. ''If we don't protect our environment, there will be less fish and other marine life,'' he told the officials.
Presently, more than one thousand people in the area rely on their catch from the sea.
''Sometimes, I earn about 10,000 baht a day from catching squid. Why should my family and I become daily workers who earn less than 150 baht a day for working at a power plant?''
He asked the officials to put themselves in the villagers' shoes. ''If your office and your houses might be destroyed by someone, would you prevent it?'' he asked.
Manas noted that sea and coastal ecosystems around their villages will certainly change if the coal-fired power plants are built.
After many barriers, the caravan arrived in Bangkok at 5 a.m. on February 7. They waited in front of the Siam City Hotel, which was supposed to be the venue of the meeting, but did not enter the hotel premises.
Later, at about 8.30 a.m., some officials along with hotel staff came to tell the group of villagers that the public hearing had been cancelled. Manas and his friends then proceeded to many concerned state agencies to submit petition letters asking officials to consider their rights and beg them not to build any coal-fired or nuclear power plants in their province.
On this occasion, Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand signed a letter for villagers pledging that the MoE has no policy to construct any Egat coal-fired power plant in Thap Sakae district, and the ministry will thoroughly collect opinions from people and academics in conducting the PDP.
Misnamed forum
Early this month, there was a seminar held at the Royal Thai Army Auditorium Hall, the title of which could be translated literally from the original Thai as a ''seminar to collect opinions'' for the power demand forecast and the PDP.
The title might lead one to expect the event would be part public hearing, part seminar. However, the itinerary revealed that it was almost all seminar. There were many officials scheduled to speak, but almost no time set aside for public participation. Moreover, there were no committees appointed to listen to what members of the public might want to say.
Sureerat Taechutrakul, an outspoken opponent of power plants in the area, said ''I can't understand why they have to hold such a meeting on a military installation.
'We didn't want to attend because it is held on army grounds. We have nothing to fear, but just feel this is undemocratic, as they use symbolic force to create an atmosphere.'' Sureerat added that the scheduling of the event was not in line with a public hearing.
According to the B.E 2539 regulation on public hearings, before one hearing is arranged, people representing all concerned parties should be registered to attend. All groups must at least have a chance to send a representative. Moreover, there must be committees appointed to listen to their arguments, whose members are accepted by all parties.
There were officials from many government agencies attending the meeting on April 3, from the EPPO, Egat, PTT, MoE, etc. There were also academics and some staff from small power producer (SPP) companies. However, there were few members of the public, and certainly they did not represent all the groups who may be affected by the PDP.
Yet, the next morning some newspapers reported the event as a public hearing. ''Nuclear high on national agenda, Strong push made at public hearing,'' read a headline in the Bangkok Post.
''Think about it,'' said Sureerat ''This is not a transparent process. This seminar is a tangible situation which we can see, yet they can manipulate it to be presented as a 'public hearing'. Think about the figures and information about the PDP, and the operation of power plants, that ordinary people like us cannot easily understand. That allows for more manipulation. People should know this is the way the powers-that-be do things thing in our country. They only want to legitimise the plan, without any real public input.''
It goes without saying that there is an equal lack of accountability in the construction and operation of power plants in the country, she continued. ''This is what people who live near the coal-fired power plants around Mae Moh in Lampang province have to go through. They get promises and promises that their problems will be solved, but most of them are hollow.'' Maliwan Nakwiroj, a leader of those affected by the Mae Moh power plants, affirmed Sureerat's words.
Viraphol Jirapraditkul, director of Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) noted at the Army Auditorium meeting that the Thailand Load Forecast Committee included people from different agencies. However, he admitted that there was no one representing small-scale consumers on the committee.
Dr Kurujit Nakornthap, deputy Permanent Secretary of the MoE, said that actually there was no legal requirement for a public hearing on the PDP.
''In the past, Egat did the energy power plan and submitted it to the cabinet for approval. Later the EPPO also helped to oversee the plan. Now we think that we should get some public input, so we provide the forum. We have organised a few seminars on the issue. However, it is not a legal requirement that we have to conduct a public hearing for the PDP,'' he said. He insisted that the PDP is a plan, not a project.
He also said there was nothing unusual about organising the seminar in the Army Auditorium, noting that it was sometimes used for weddings.
''We cannot organise such a seminar in a hotel, as it might cause disruption to the guests if there is a protest,'' added Dr Kurujit.