Energy Ministry told to consider power subsidies for low-income group
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has told the Energy Ministry to consider subsidising electricity for vulnerable groups after he put the brakes on a planned increase in power fees for this month.
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Prayut met with the Energy Ministry and the Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday to discuss the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat)’s plan to raise the FT rate.
The FT or Float Time is based on “uncontrollable costs” of power generating, such as fuel prices, inflation, exchange rate and electricity purchasing from private power plants.
Thanakorn said the meeting resolved that the FT rate for August will not be increased, and when the new rate for September to December is enforced, the government will partially subsidise charges for vulnerable groups.
The spokesman said Prayut asked the Energy Ministry to work out details of the subsidy with other concerned agencies and send the proposal to the Cabinet for deliberation.
Prayut also urged the Energy Ministry to coordinate with Egat and look for ways to lower the cost of generating power for the remaining five months of this year, Thanakorn added.
“The PM is concerned that the FT rate increase will affect all sectors and the government will try its best to minimise the impact,” the spokesman said.
“If the FT increase is unavoidable, the Energy Ministry will look for new measures to help ease the burden on people. The government will, in particular, consider measures to help low-income people.”