NGO makes case for Energy Ministry to cut fuel marketing fee

“We have submitted the proposal during a meeting with Energy permanent secretary Kulit Sombatsiri on December 22,” said Nakarn Chanthiratnara, founder of the group.

“The permanent secretary has promised that he will forward it to the Energy Policy and Planning Office [EPPO] to consider the new rate after the new year or early next year. In the meantime, the ministry will survey the marketing fee from petrol stations nationwide to get accurate data on calculating a suitable rate.”

Nakarn added that the group’s decision came after the EPPO’s announcement on June 17 to reduce all kinds of fuel price at refinery by Bt0.5 per litre on average, but the retail prices of oil remain the same as oil vendors have not adjusted their marketing fee accordingly. “This has resulted in consumers receiving zero benefit from the EPPO policy,” he said.

Meanwhile, ML Korakasiwat Kasemsri, director of Energy and Natural Resources Policy Research Centre at Rangsit University, said that the marketing fee that the Ministry of Energy has set is an average for all kinds of oils, but in reality each petrol station sells different oils at different prices.

“To maintain market competitiveness, the marketing fee should be set individually for each type of oil and must be under a maximum limit to ensure that all parties receive the fullest benefit,” he said. “In the past, there have been cases when some small petrol stations had to go out of business due to the marketing fee being too high.

“Domestic consumption of fuel is at approximately 100 million litres per day. If the marketing fee is only Bt1 per litre higher than it should be, that means Thai people have overpaid Bt36 billion on fuel per year,” he added. “This amount is significant and should have been spent on some other necessities.”