In 2010, after lifetimes of living in darkness after the sun went down, the villagers were grateful to get approval for a submarine power cable from the then-government of Abhisit Vejjajiva.
The project, costing B46 million, was supposed to deliver electricity through a 970-metre submarine pipe from Laem Hin, the closest point on Phuket Island.
Work on the cable was due to start in October 2010, and to be completed in October this year.
But gratitude has turned into disappointment. Apart from a couple of visits by surveyors, nothing has happened. The project, the villagers say, seems to be in limbo.
“We have been called for help for several years, but it seems to be a forlorn hope” said the village headman, Younobe Petchdee. “You would never imagine that there would be a place near Phuket that have no access to electricity.”
The villagers survive on power produced by solar plants and generators that allow them to watch TV and for lighting after dark.
Because of the limited power available, villagers may use only on TV and two light bulbs per household, and only from 6pm to 11pm.
And that five hours of power, Mr Younobe explained, cost each household B165 a night, or around B5,000 a month.
With some unable to afford the full cost, some households share a generator, meaning that there is enough power only to use an electric fan.
The lack of power has also caused difficulties in running the local school, a mosque and a public health centre.
During the mobile Cabinet session on March 19-20, the villagers tried to put their case to the government but were denied access.
However, a week later, Bangkok-based MP Chuwit Kamolvisit, on holiday in Phuket, visited Koh Maphrao, and was astonished to learn about the lack of power.
He brought the situation to the attention of Bangkok-based media. But still there has been no response from the government.
“To develop Koh Maphrao, electricity is a necessary basic facility we need,” said Mr Younobe. “We’ve been trying to get the government to understand our difficulties.”
If the villagers are finding it expensive to pay the bills for generator power, their costs are nothing compared with the price the island’s five-star resort, The Village Coconut Island, is paying.
Its managing director, Chris Gordon, told The Phuket News that the resort has six generators running around the clock powering the resort itself, and also helping feed public facilities on the island such as the school, the mosque and the public health center.
It charges nothing for these community services, but the fuel bill each month is B6 million.
“We brings tourists into the country and we employ 70 per cent of the community here,” said Mr Gordon. “It’s terrible; we get no help.”
The Director of the Provincial Electricity Authority Southern Region 2, Wara Janjao, explained that the submarine cable projects is on hold because its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has yet to be completed and approved.
“It takes time to complete an EIA,” said Mr Wara. “And there are some factors that are out of our control that have increased the delay.”
He said that as long as the EIA has yet to be approved, it is impossible for him to say when the project can be completed.