The private sector will formally ask the government to peg the electricity rate at 4.72 baht per unit from January until April, claiming that any increase of electricity prices will heavily impact business and industry, which are just recovering after the pandemic.
Kriangkrai Thiennukul, president of the Federation of Thai Industries, representing the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking, said today (Friday) that the private sector is concerned that any rate increase would also impact members of the public and reduce Thailand’s competitiveness vis-à-vis other countries in the region.
He claimed that the Vietnamese government decided to freeze the electricity rate at about 2.88 baht per unit for a year, while Thailand plans to increase it by 14%-28%, from 4.72 baht/unit to as much as 6.03 baht/unit from January 1st.
The Office of Energy Regulatory Commission (OERC) is currently in the process of gauging the opinions of the private sector and the public about the plan to adjust the Fuel Tariff (FT), which would increase the price of electricity.
The OERC is expected to reach its decision on the new electricity rates for household, business and industrial use this month.
Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow has previouslysaid that the government will help subsidise electricity for households with funding from PTT Public Company. For the business and industrial sectors, however, the OERC will step in to help when there is energy crisis, he added.
