Fuel demand is soaring in the Myanmar border towns of Myawaddy, Payathonzu, and Tachileik after the Thai government cut off their electricity and fuel supply to cripple online scam centers there.
Some filling stations have closed, and locals worry that fuel will be rationed soon.
Thailand on Wednesday decided to cut off electricity, fuel, and internet supply to five border areas that teem with online scam operations.
The key border trade hub of Myawaddy is notorious for scam centers run by Chinese crime syndicates. Shwe Kokko to the north and KK Park to the south are hotbeds of transnational crime, including online fraud and drug and human trafficking, with numerous reports of forced labor and torture.
Certain residential areas, government offices, hotels, and religious buildings in Myawaddy have been cut off since Wednesday morning while long queues of cars and motorbikes formed at fuel stations.
“All the filling stations are crowded,” a resident told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. “One PTT station stopped selling in the morning. They said they would sell until the ground tank runs out, but now it’s closed. It seems they are controlling sales.”
Thailand’s PTT has not yet stopped fuel supply to its filling stations across the border and is waiting for the official order, but delivery trucks were stuck at the Second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge on Thursday morning.
“Fuel prices are going up from 3,000 kyats before the embargo to 3,370 on Wednesday and rising,” the resident said.
The junta also restricts fuel transport from Yangon and Mandalay to areas controlled by ethnic armed organizations, and the Asian Highway is closed, so residents in Payathonzu and Myawaddy rely on fuel from Thailand.
Most people and businesses depend on solar power and diesel generators.
A local business owner said: “Those who can afford it use solar panels. Those who can’t rely on small generators. Restaurants, metalwork shops, and welding workshops all use generators. As the town relies on fuel imported from Thailand, the cut-off will have a significant impact.”
Another resident said hospitals could also be affected.
“We don’t know if it will make any difference to the scam centers, but ordinary citizens have certainly been hit,” he said.
While prices are creeping up in Myawaddy, they have already soared in Tachileik, jumping from around 30 baht per liter last week to more than 80 baht since the embargo. In Payathonzu, prices increased from 32 baht to 60 baht as demand surged.
Residents are concerned that fuel might be rationed soon due to panic buying.
“This area is controlled by the Karen National Army (KNA) and not the regime,” a resident said. “We are concerned about how the KNA will respond.”
Power supply was cut off to distributors with contracts with Thailand’s Provincial Electricity Authority at five border crossings: Second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge–Myawaddy; Ban Huay Muang–Myawaddy; Three Pagodas Pass–Payathonzu; Ban Mueang Daeng–Tachileik; and First Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge–Tachileik.
