The Thai cabinet will seek approval from the Election Commission (EC) for the allocation of about 11.1 billion baht from the Central Fund for emergency use, under Section 169 (3) of the Constitution, to subsidise household electricity charges from May to August.

According to the charter, any use of the special fund by a caretaker government requires approval from the EC.

Government Spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said today (Tuesday) that the subsidy is intended for residences which use up to 300 units of electricity per month.

Households which use up to 150 units per month will be given a discount of 92.04 satang for every unit of electricity consumed, while those who consume 151-300 units will be given a discount of 67.04 satang per unit.

Anucha said that there are 18.36 million households which use fewer than 300 units/month. The scheme will cost an estimated 7.6 billion baht, to be absorbed by the emergency reserve fund.

For the 23.4 million households which consume between 301 and 500 units per month, he said that about 3.5 billion baht from the Central Fund for 2023 will be used to subsidise electricity charges.