The power pole problem in Pattaya

For us foreigners it is still a strange sight to see the overhead wiring of electricity, telephone and cable television, etc. Many cables run from pole to pole that often turn into a spaghetti tangle of wires at intersections, for example, where you wonder whether Is there anyone who knows which cable is for what. You'll be surprised anyway that fires don't start due to a short circuit.

And it's getting worse. There are more and more providers of cable television, internet and other electronic services and the necessary cables are simply added to the already stretched cables. Even the Thai public is starting to stir. In many places, especially around Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya, the total weight of the cables causes them to drop down to street level. Although this does not concern the electricity cables that are stretched above the poles, there is a real danger for pedestrians and other passing traffic.

After some protest-like publications in the Thai media, Pattaya Mail spoke to a technical officer from the Provincial Electricity Authority, which owns the power poles in Chonburi province. No, he did not think that his agency is responsible for the cable chaos, but the companies that rent space at the poles from the PEA to stretch cables for telephone, internet, etc. It is due to the sloppy work of the engineers of those businesses. They make a confused mess of it.

He explained that when a customer signs up for a new or different cable TV, Internet or phone service, the provider's technicians pull a new cable. At the same time, it is then assumed that the old, unused cables are removed from the posts. In reality, however, few technicians bother to remove the old cable, even if they see that the weight of the existing lines is causing it to sag.

The PEA official said all companies renting space on the poles have now been contacted with a request to address the problem and remove unused cables. He had to admit that this would take time because the request would have to go through the bureaucracy of each individual company and a work plan with costs would then have to be approved by the headquarters.

My conclusion: nothing happens!

Source: Pattaya Mail