In an effort to save electricity during next month’s Myanmar-related, natural gas-dependent energy shortage, the Thai Shopping Center Association (TSCA) has agreed to close 40 of the country’s malls one hour early between April 5 and 14.
Naris Cheyklin, president of the TSCA, said that by closing early, the malls would cut somewhere between 5 and 10% (or about THB1 billion) of their electricity consumption.
In addition to closing early, Naris also said that the participating malls would raise the temperature on their air-conditioning units by one or two degrees.
The forecast electricity shortfall this April stems from maintenance being conducted on a natural gas platform in Myanmar. Thailand receives 25% of its natural gas from its northwestern neighbor and during the scheduled maintenance, that gas will cease to flow.
Not only will Thailand’s malls be closing early during mid-April, but three of its Toyota plants will be curtailing their production as well, again in an effort to save energy.
