On 21 June 2022, GIZ in partnership with the Strategy and Planning Division (SPD), Ministry of Energy (MoEN) under the Thai-German Climate Programme (TGCP)-Energy organised an online meeting titled ‘Energy for remote area’ with the aim of introducing online tools to provincial energy offices (PEnO) for their future training and giving the participants an opportunity to learn and exchange ideas with experts through the panel discussion.

The energy for remote area targets the government stakeholders, namely the provincial energy offices in Thailand, to use the digital learning tools developed by GIZ to facilitate the promotion of energy efficiency and create an understanding of the technical implementation process of alternative clean energy in rural areas.

The participants also learned how to use the learning platform, which is integrated into the Ministry of Energy’s website at the E-learning section: https://e-learning.energy.go.th/. The TGCP-Energy project handed over this platform, the lessons in which comprise 3 modules, namely:

• Energy scenario
• Energy analysis and smart energy planning
• Energy for remote area. This module includes planning and system design components for efficient energy management in developing areas

In addition, participants were informed about the lesson learnt on energy management in areas where electricity is not yet accessible, planning to manage energy in the area effectively, as well as people’s participation in designing work plans that lead to the implementation of sustainable access to electricity. This was done through exchanges of experience from the speakers who have the expertise and have worked in energy management including designing alternative energy systems in a remote area.

“I am delighted to see our participants today come from many government offices and from many provinces in Thailand. The TGCP-Energy programme has been working alongside the provincial energy office for more than 4 years and I have seen tremendous contributions and support from everyone to tackle the challenging situation of achieving clean energy and climate issues. I also have seen how we have all exchanged ideas and worked together to achieve our milestones,” said Simon Rolland, GIZ Programme Director, in his opening remarks.

“Through the programme implementation, the members of PEnO in many provinces learnt not only about every aspect of energy management but also had opportunities to discuss and exchange their ideas with the leading experts who were the guest speakers of the programme. This knowledge is beneficial for future work and for strategising energy planning in Thailand,” said Pirat Petchlum, Strategic energy planning expert of the Ministry of Energy’s Department of Strategic Planning.

This seminar is part of the Energy Clinic Programme which comprises 4 strategic themes to support the PEnO in sub-national implementation, namely (1) Smart Energy for Smart Cities, (2) Energy for Buildings, (3) Energy for agriculture, and (4) Energy for remote area. GIZ and its strategic partners from the Ministry of Energy developed a sustainable energy management model in areas where electricity is inaccessible for the development of projects in the provincial area as well as creating E-learning platforms (E-learning materials) to support the operation of the target group according to the objectives that have been jointly set.