Possible increase in power fees
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand Governor Sutat Patmasiriwat envisions an increase of 20-30 satang per unit in fuel tariff (FT) for the May-August round, following the spike in natural gas prices.
He said that the current FT rate is based on the oil price of US$100 per barrel, while the current oil price is nearly $120 per barrel. Natural gas price in the second half would certainly increase, due to the 6-month price lag.
FT is based on the cost from three fuels - natural gas which makes up for 60 per cent of fuels for electricity generating, diesel and bunker oil.
He noted that in the January-April round, the FT should have been raised by 10 satang to reflect the actual fuel cost. However, EGAT was told to shoulder the additional burden, which is estimated at about Bt8 billion, as the FT was maintained to ease the cost of living.
The fuel cost should also rise further as Sutat announced on Thursday that some generators may be run by bunker and diesel during April 8-17 as Yetagun gas field in Burma will shut down for annual maintenance. This will reduce the natural gas supply by 1 billion cubic feet per day. Meanwhile, during April 25-May 8, supply of 600 million cubic feet per day from Bongkot Field will also disappear due to maintenance shutdown.
