Thai Up The TV  

Thailand is struggling with energy shortages (an early casualty of rising oil prices) and has come up with a novel way of reducing the power consumed by TV's - telling broadcasters to shutdown during the early morning hours.

No need to turn off the television in Thailand - the Government will do it for you. Amid a continuing energy crisis, TV and radio stations have been told to shut down from midnight each night voluntarily or face compulsory broadcasting bans.

The TV companies say they will comply if the Government makes it compulsory for all, but warn the broadcasting blackout will not cut power use. The turn-off is just one of the recommendations released this week by the Energy Policy and Planning Office for voluntary measures to lower energy consumption. Others include raising the temperature in government offices to 25 degrees and shutting the air-conditioning down at lunch and from 4pm to 9am; asking golf courses to switch off unnecessary lights; and urging people to use their cars less at weekends.

"It's time for a serious saving of energy consumption by all the people in the country," the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, told reporters. "I urge everyone to do their part to help conserve energy. We need to tighten our belts really hard."

Thailand's energy crisis is not about shortage of power, but its cost. The country imports 95 per cent of its oil and rising prices and high electricity demand, combined with a slowing economy, are making the problem worse. "We are addicted to oil. We consume it in many ways, household, industrial and electricity," said Suthakij Nuntavorakarn , an energy researcher at the Health Systems Research Institute, in Bangkok. "Even though the power industry is fuelled by gas and coal, the prices are linked."