ERC seeks new price formula for natural gas
In a move to liberalise the natural gas business, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has urged the government to separate its price formula to ensure stable electricity costs for people.
ERC Chairman, Samerjai Suksumek said on Friday (December 20) that in setting the guidelines for liberalisation of the business, the commission must improve rules and regulations to comply with the policy of the Energy Ministry.
“The commission seeks an improvement in the natural gas price formula to encourage third-party competition in the business,” he said.
“The formula should be divided into two pools, as opposed to the current gas price structure which is based on the average price of procurement from three sources - domestic gas supply, gas purchased from Myanmar, and gas imported in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG)”.
He explained that the first pool is gas procurement. PTT Plc will still be responsible for LNG purchases as fuel for the power plants of Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), in line with the Power Development Plan (PDP).
The second pool is procurement to meet additional LNG demand. It should allow third parties or other entrepreneurs to compete for the role of supplier/importer.
“However, if the calculation resulted in price difference. The ERC will refer to price supervision rules to ensure fairness and not to cause problems in import management and gas quality”.
He added that ERC is considering improving details of licences and will hold public hearings on the drafts of System Operator-SO Regulatory Framework and Transmission Owner-TO Regulatory Framework.