Energy Ministry proposes new ways to cut electricity bills
The Cabinet on Tuesday (April 21) acknowledged the Energy Ministry’s additional measures proposed to ease the cost of electricity for 22 million households nationwide from March to May, the government’s spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat said.
The ministry was told to proceed in line with related laws.
The first measure will be to offer free electricity to households holding 5-amp metres from March to May.
The second measure will be applied to households that have stronger than 5-amp metres and use more than 150 units per month. Their monthly bill during the March to May period will be based on the units they used in February.
If their usage during this period is lower than the amount used in February, then they will be charged for actual usage.
If their usage exceeds the amount used in February but does not go beyond 800 units, then they will be charged the same amount as February.
If their usage exceeds 800 units but does not go beyond 3,000 units, then they will be charged the same as they paid in February plus 50 per cent of the extra units.
For instance, if a household used 300 units in February and 1,000 units in March, then the extra 700 units used will be halved to 350 units, resulting in the user paying for 650 units.
If households use more than 3,000 units, the extra units will be discounted by 30 per cent first and then combined to the amount paid in February.
For instance, if 300 units were used in February, but 3,200 in March, then the excess is 2,900 units, which will be cut down by 30 per cent resulting in 2,030 units. This amount will then be added to the 300 units resulting in the household only having to pay for 2,330 units.
Consumers will have to pay their March bills first before the difference is refunded to them later. The ministry is expected to spend Bt23.668 billion on this subsidy.
