File photo: Anutin Charnvirakul
Electricity authorities have various measures to assist vulnerable individuals, but these failed to prevent the recent death of an elderly, bedridden woman whose health conditions worsened after her home's electricity was cut off.
Even more distressing, the power was cut despite pleas from her niece that her aunt depended on an electricity-powered oxygen concentrator.
How the tragedy unfolded
On October 1, staff from a private firm turned up in front of 68-year-old Kian Leephon’s home in Nakhon Phanom’s Wang Yang district at about 9am. They produced a document from the Provincial Electricity Agency (PEA)'s Wang Yang office stating the homeowner’s electricity payment was long overdue and thus her home would lose access to the power supply.
Appalled, her niece rushed over from her nearby home and explained to the staff that her aunt’s life would be in danger if they went ahead with their plan. She also assured them she would pay the bill within a few hours.
“They just didn’t listen,” the 42-year-old niece said. “I am heartbroken.”
The officials removed the meter, cutting the electricity supply to Kian’s home at 9.20am. Her elder sister jumped on a motorbike driven by the niece for the 10-kilometre ride to the nearest electricity office to pay the overdue bill of just over 1,000 baht.
After the payment was made, the power supply was turned back on at 11.49am.
For most, the brief power outage would have been a minor inconvenience, but for seriously ill individuals like Kian, it was a matter of life and death.
“It’s unacceptable,” said Nonglak Janchana, director of the small hospital that had been treating Kian. “Why didn’t the staff involved show some compassion?”
She called on the PEA to take responsibility for the tragedy and implement measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Explanation from PEA
PEA explained that the electricity was cut to Kian’s home in line with regulations requiring bill payment within the deadline. While some delays are tolerated, if the amount due is left unpaid for a month or so, power meters and transformers can be removed from their homes.
However, these rules are typically relaxed for households with chronically ill individuals reliant on electricity-powered medical devices. In these cases, homeowners may leave electricity bills pending for up to three months.
The PEA said that Kian’s home, where she had lived alone after her husband’s death a decade ago, had not been registered as housing a bedridden patient. It added that though her family was not eligible for compensation since Kian had not passed away during the power cut, it had provided her relatives with financial assistance.
Interior Ministry steps in
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered an investigation into the woman’s death, while also instructing the PEA, kamnans and village heads to publicise measures in place to protect vulnerable electricity users.
Families of bedridden patients can register for the protective measures at any PEA office. To register, they need to show their own and the patient’s national ID card, a medical certificate issued within the past month showing the patient depends on an electricity-powered device, and an electricity bill with the household’s address.
Registration must be renewed by January 31 every year.
Electricity is also provided for free to welfare cardholders from households that consume less than 50 units, or 315 baht’s worth, per month.
Kian had long been exempted from electricity charges because her bill had not exceeded 315 baht. But after her health worsened and she began using the oxygen concentrator, her bills rose to 348 baht in April, 350 baht in May, 620 baht in August, and 534 baht in September.
Kian’s relatives said they didn’t realise the bills had risen above the limit, meaning the exemption was no longer valid.
