Micro Hydropower Development Project at Ban Poeng Khloeng, Tak Province

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     Located at Mae Chan Subdistrict, Umphang District, Tak Province, the project is one of many projects that the DEDE has undertaken to develop and build for the villages located in the Thai-Myanmar border area where the electricity from the grid  has not yet reached. The people use lighting mainly from candles and lanterns. The cost of buying candles and kerosene is about 200 baht per month.  In 2000, DEDE received the proposal from the community, we found the potential  to develop and construct a micro hydropower project using  the natural water resources that exist in the community. Therefore, DEDE proceeded to details design of the construction. In 2002, after received the budget from the government, the project started in construction with the  cooperation from the people in the community. They supported in labor and provided local materials  to contribute to the construction such as the construction of weirs,  installation of water pipes and poles, and installation of  the hydroelectric machinery inside the power plant building.  Furthermore, the local people also supporting in electricity cable wiring to connect with the meter of each house.  After the  completion,  the residents of Ban Poeng Khloeng have had electricity to use thoroughly in every household since November 13, 2002 onwards.

     After the construction is completed, the DEDE has relayed how to operate the power supply. Project maintenance techniques Project management model and help guide the establishment of the power user group committee. Then  hand over the project to the Ban Poeng Khloeng community to manage themselves. There are local agencies as mentors to provide advices and DEDE staffs to provide technical services in case of problems that exceed the capabilities of the local people.  The electricity from the project is cost-effective and sustainable for the total of 522 households  the average cost of electricity at  150 baht per household per month. The project provided a higher quality of life for the people while, the cost of  electricity is reduced.

The role of the local people in participating in the project.

Preliminary survey of the area

     DEDE sends officers to conduct a preliminary survey of the area with the local people in the area.  The community leaders provided information such as the number of households that need electricity, the amount of natural water resources, geography of the  area for setting up a power plant, etc., in order to assess the feasibility of the project implementation. It was found that  community have sufficient natural water sources throughout the year and the potential  to develop appropriate micro hydropower projects which led to a public hearing meeting at Poeng Khloeng Village.

Organizing a meeting for public hearing from the community before the construction of the project

     DEDE held a public hearing meeting at Poeng Khloeng Village with people in the village including related agencies and all stakeholders from all sectorsto hear opinions and suggestionsabout the construction of the project whether there is an impact or not. Also including clarifying the details of the project scope of collaboration,  planning  rules setting,  duties and responsibilities of the people by emphasizing the cooperation between government agencies and people in the area. Furthermore  the coordinating with agencies related to permission to use in the area, for proper use of the area in accordance with the regulations of the responsible supervisory agency. (Tak Provincial Office of Natural Resources and Environment, Royal Forest Department, Local Administrative Organizations) and sub-departments in the area) As a result, the meeting agreed with the project, the DEDE therefore proceeded to construct the project together with the Ban Poeng Khloeng community.

Project construction

     Results from the survey of natural water resources and geography of the community area lead to detailed engineering design.In the construction process, the DEDE proceeds to purchase of hydropower machinery and construction materials  that cannot be found in the area. The community contributes to the construction workers until it is completed with free of charge, as well as procuring locally available materials such as stones, gravel, sand to contribute to the construction of the project while  the DEDE to supervise the construction  according to engineering principles.

Project management

     After the construction o is completed.  Electricity users in from every household in the community have jointly established a power user groupto  participatein project management together by dividing responsibility for various tasks, including the operator of the machine, maintenance of the hydroelectric power generation system, electric bill collector. Also setting up an accounting officer to accumulate the remaining money in the account to be kept for the project's expenses in the future with supporting from DEDE.

Sustainability of the project

DEDE organizes training to educate people who are assigned to take care of control operation of the power supply and maintenance of the hydroelectric power generation system, both preliminary theory before starting the machine by hands-on sessions and training workshops to develop skills at the right time.

performance reporting

     The community hydropower users of Ban Poeng Khloeng will report the power generation performance and project component status every  month to the DEDE via line application, resulting in quick information  for analyzing and planning the action including reporting problems, obstacles and limitations in order to be able to resolve problems in a timely manner.

Inspection and technical service

DEDE has  plan to check the status of project components and electricity distribution in the community every 2 months.In the situation that there are problems  beyond the community's ability, DEDE will provide technical services immediately upon receiving notification,.

Follow-up evaluation

     DEDE has kept a record of the operation of the project and use the data to analyze, design, develop, improve the hydroelectric machinery to be more efficient and keep pace with higher technologyon schedule every 8 years.

     The development plan is to install a remote tracking system to send real time information to  to the centralized engineers and executives for a quick use at all times.

Productivity, results, impact of operations

Productivity

Results

     1) Ensuring that the people of Ban Poeng Khloeng, with 522 households, have sufficient  electricity for the community and  has a better quality of life as well as  the society in the city. For example the Sub-District Health Promoting Hospital: can use electricity for medical devices in treating patients, and refrigeration to store blood and medical equipment, etc. School: can bring electricity to computers and the Internet, helping to enhance education and information discovery for teachers and students. They can also organize online teaching and learning. Occupational promotion for the community: supporting in  opening of various shops, barber shops, etc., in addition of to the former occupation that primarily engaged in agriculture. Temple: having electricity allows monks and people to pray and practice meditation at night. Uses at night: people can watch TV for information and household entertainment. Cooking: can use electricity for cooking instead of firewood,his will help prevent long-term deforestation. Students can read books and do their homeworkand villagers can work to supplement their occupation during the night, such as agricultural crop processing, etc.

     2) Benefiting in the management of water from natural sources, which is clean and inexhaustible energy. Also can be used to benefit effectively by using hydroelectric power generation which reduces dependence on fuel. As the result, it helps to reduce the occurrence of global warming and reduce the impact on the environment as well.

     3) Using  of electricity generated from hydropower when compared to the conventional lighting that uses candles and kerosene. It was found that the use of electricity from hydropower has higher stability and continuity in use. It also helps reduce household expenditures by reducing electricity costs by an average of 50 baht/month/household.

Impact of operations

     1) Raising awareness among people in the area to understand and see the importance of forest preservation and water preservation to create humidification, resulting in natural water that are sufficient to generate electricity all year round.

     2) Implementation of a village-level hydroelectric power project help provide communities with weirs that help slow down the natural water and increase the water storage area, which is useful in bringing to consumer as a source of aquatic food,  help maintain soil moisture, which helps to preserve the ecosystem and helps support the agricultural occupation of the people, etc.

     3) Creating  unity among the people  in the village with  jointly constructing the project, . participating in decision-making and management from the start to finish.

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