Do you live in Thailand? Good news about your electric bill

[Gaybutton]

New power tariff rate takes effect

Reduces bills for last 4 months of the year

by Yuthana Praiwan

October 5, 2023

The cabinet resolved to reduce the power tariff to 3.99 baht a unit at its Sept 18 meeting.

The new power tariff of 3.99 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit), which reduces electricity bills for the last four months of this year, has taken effect, following approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which was instructed to enact the government's energy price policies.

The approval allows the new calculation of power bills for households and businesses from September to December.

The cabinet initially agreed to cut the power tariff from 4.45 baht to 4.10 baht a unit during its first meeting on Sept 13, then resolved to cut the rate further to 3.99 baht a unit at the Sept 18 meeting.

The 3.99-baht rate was suggested by Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga following talks with the ERC, said government spokesman Chai Watcharong.

The reduction also adjusts the fuel tariff (Ft), a key component of the power tariff, by decreasing it from 0.66 baht per unit to 0.2048 baht per unit, said Khomgrich Tantravanich, secretary-general of the ERC.

Ft originally stood for float time, a fuel adjustment charge at a given time. Ft is determined by various factors, including fuel prices, electricity purchases and other expenses under the government's policy.

State-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) buys electricity from local power companies and imports some from Laos to ensure adequate power supply in Thailand.

Mr Khomgrich did not provide details regarding the deduction of money from the new power tariff to reimburse Egat.

Part of the power tariff is required to be paid to Egat to help it settle its huge loss after it subsidised electricity bills between September 2021 and May 2023, easing the impact of higher fuel prices for households and businesses.

Egat's loss was projected earlier to decrease to 135 billion baht at the end of August.

Under a tariff rate of 4.45 baht per unit, the authority was forecast to clear its loss by April 2025.

The ERC met with Egat and PTT Plc on Sept 20 and discussed ways to finalise the energy price reduction policy.

Egat was instructed to come up with a plan to adjust its debt management, while PTT was told to decrease its gas sales price to 304.79 baht per million British thermal units (BTU) or less, down from 323.37 baht per million BTU, according to the ERC.

Gas makes up around 60% of the fuel used for power generation in Thailand.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ge ... kes-effect

[Bangkokian]

ElectricITY bill.

[Gaybutton]

ElectricITY bill.

Why are you pointing that out? That's bkkguy's job . . .

[Bangkokian]

ElectricITY bill.

Why are you pointing that out? That's bkkguy's job . . .

Sorry about that.
I should have pointed out the Thai's version -- electricCITY.

[Gaybutton]

They did live up to the promise of reduced electric bills. My bill came today and it is more than 1200 baht less than the bills over the past several months.

[gerefan]

They did live up to the promise of reduced electric bills. My bill came today and it is more than 1200 baht less than the bills over the past several months.

It’s a pity that some condo renters haven’t passed it onto their clients. My electricity this time round is the same as last winter.
I shall be taking it up with them when I arrive in December.

[Gaybutton]

It’s a pity that some condo renters haven’t passed it onto their clients.

It is probably also illegal. They must be thinking tenants such as you might get angry if they find that cheating has been going on, but are unlikely to do anything much about it.

If it were me and I caught the management cheating me on my electric bill, I would for sure be wondering what else they cheat me about.

[Jun]

It is probably also illegal

This should be illegal, but as far as I can tell, the authorities in Thailand are less interested in protecting the consumer than in our own countries. So is it actually illegal in Thailand ?

If landlords are allowed to profit from the electricity, it follows that they have no incentive to ensure the aircon and other facilities operate efficiently, since the more electric you waste, the more they make.
The really unscrupulous ones might try to ensure the meter goes around faster.

[Gaybutton]

The really unscrupulous ones ......

Is there any other kind?