Ekniti briefs PM on plans to tighten controls on data centre investment, including a requirement to locate facilities outside city centres, and urges all subcommittees to finalise economic, social and environmental standards by the end of September
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas has instructed subcommittees to complete Thailand’s minimum standards for data centre investment by the end of September 2026.
Ekniti outlined plans for higher electricity charges for data centres, with potential financial benefits used to lower public electricity bills if feasible.
Ekniti said a second phase of Thais Help Thais Plus remained under consideration, with no decision on a one- or two-month extension.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas has instructed subcommittees to complete Thailand’s minimum standards for data centre investment by the end of September 2026. Speaking on Friday (September 11), Ekniti said the framework would cover economic, social and environmental considerations.
Ekniti briefed the prime minister on progress alongside Energy Minister Akanat Promphan and Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).
What will Thailand’s data centre standards cover?
Discussing the overhaul of Thailand’s data centre rules, Ekniti said preliminary information had been collected and subcommittees had been established on September 11 to develop the minimum standards. All panels had been tasked with completing their work within the month.
The economic subcommittee would take an integrated view of the sector, focusing on whether data centre investment represented good value and what benefits Thailand would receive, according to Ekniti. Environmental oversight would be guided by environmental impact assessment (EIA) standards.
Will data centres pay more for electricity?
Energy Minister Akanat would oversee infrastructure requirements, Ekniti said. Work on the framework already included plans to require data centres to pay higher electricity rates, with the resulting financial benefits potentially used to reduce electricity bills for the public.
“Data centres will have to pay more for electricity,” Ekniti said, explaining that the financial benefits could be used to lower public electricity bills if feasible.
Ekniti also raised the possibility of requiring data centre operators to invest in clean energy alongside their projects.
Will data centres be allowed in city centres?
A separate subcommittee would examine data centre locations, with safety a central consideration, Ekniti said. He did not announce a ban on city-centre sites.
Ekniti said the regulatory system was being overhauled because data centres had been established in various locations and some had made use of regulatory loopholes. He cited a Bangkok data centre project that had received investment promotion from the Board of Investment (BOI).
Has a second phase of Thais Help Thai Plus been approved?
Ekniti said a second phase of Thais Help Thais Plus remained under consideration. An extension of one or two months had not been decided and would depend on economic conditions.
Ekniti pointed to money remaining within the 200-billion-baht portion of funding under the emergency borrowing decree, rather than confirming a new budget allocation.
“It is still under consideration. It could be one month or two. We need to look at the economic conditions as well,” Ekniti said.
