Lignite-fired power plant still on the boil in bid to cut electricity cost
The National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) on Wednesday postponed the plan to do away with the Mae Moh lignite-fired power plant unit 8-11 in Lampang until December 31, 2025, in a bid to reduce electricity cost amid rising liquefied natural gas (LNG) price.
Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said on Thursday that the global LNG price has risen due to many countries' sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
He said the rising LNG price also pushed up electricity bills, impacting the economy and people's living.
Thailand still has to rely on LNG to produce electricity, he added.
Apart from reducing electricity cost amid rising LNG price, he said this move also helped reduce electricity bills for users and mitigate the impact of the decline in LNG production at the Erawan gas field in the Gulf of Thailand during the transfer of natural gas resource concession.
He said this move will not affect the country's plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions within 2030. He added that this move is also in line with Environmental Health Impact Assessment.
The NEPC has appointed the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and Energy Regulatory Commission to work on this issue, he said.
He said the NEPC has also approved the purchase of 100 megawatts of electricity from waste generators in the form of Feed-in Tariff (FiT) at 6.08 baht per unit (excluding FiT Premium) from very small power producers.
He added that this move is in line with Power Development Plan from 2018 and 2037.
The power producers must deliver electricity in 2026, he added.