Power Reliability on Koh Tao for Digital Nomads - Where has generators?

Koh Tao runs on a combination of power supplied by diesel generators and a underwater power line from the mainland via Koh Phangan. Reliability has gotten a lot better since 2017!  In the main areas of Mae Haas and Sairee, power outages are rare and much shorter. Chalok and the east side of Tao sometimes have a few more outages, but it's better there too I would say. 

Now outages are usually related to a line down from a heavy storm, or planned maintenance to cut back trees etc from the lines. 

Following Koh Tao FYI on Facebook is a good way to get alerted of planed outages, and we try to post them in the Koh Tao Nomads WhatApp too. 

What to do when the power goes out?

If you need to work during a power outage, you have a few options:
  • Co-work options:
  • Go to a restaurant or resort (and restaurants in then) that usually have a back up generator running:
    • Breeze Restaurant
    • Factory Cafe
    • View Point Resort (Cape Restaurant)
    • Blue Water Cafe (2nd floor room)
    • AC2 & 1/1 Restaurant
    • Sairee Cottage Restaurant
    • Cafe Culture
    • Summer Cafe - Sairee
    • Oasis Restaurant - Sairee- AC room/quiet area
    • Fishbowl Restaurant
  • North Sairee has a separate private power station - so you can try looking around north sairee for places that are open and have the lights on :)

How long are outages:

If it is planned maintenance like replacing generators, upgrading lines and transformers, then the outages can last for a couple hours to most of the day.  These are rare and usually planned and posted in FB community groups 1-3 days ahead of time. 

Storm outages vary much like they do at home, but I have found the crews to be efficient at getting things back up within 1-4 hours usually. 

If you are on Koh Tao for rainy/storm season (approximately mid-October to Mid-December, you may run into a few more power cuts do to trees down etc. 

What can I do to be pre-pared for a power cut on Koh Tao?

Some basic tips if you "must" be online:
  • Keep your batteries charged ahead of time
  • Plan where you will work from if there is an outage
  • Have a AIS SIM with unlimited data to stay online if the routers run out of power where you are working from (True seems to be a bit slow for people)
  • Just book the time off and read a book, go for a snorkel or scuba dive,  sit on the beach and enjoy life :) You are on a tropical island after all :) 

 

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