PEA confirms Thailand public lighting costs as government reviews fix
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirms authorities are checking how public lighting charges are handled, insisting people must not carry the burden.
- The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has confirmed that the costs for public and street lighting are included in the public's electricity bills.
- The Thai government is currently reviewing how these public lighting charges are incorporated into the existing tariff structure.
- The Prime Minister has stated that the public must not be made to carry the financial burden of these costs.
The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has confirmed that street lighting and other public lighting costs are included in the public’s electricity bills under the existing tariff structure, as the government examines how the charge is handled.
PEA Governor Mongkol Treekijjanon said the issue raised by Energy Minister Akanat Promphan was true.
He said the PEA and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) were operational agencies responsible for implementing the electricity tariff structure already set by the relevant authorities.
Mongkol said decisions on the tariff structure and related authority rested with the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
The PEA and MEA were required to follow whatever structure was approved.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said authorities were examining the matter separately to establish how public lighting charges had been embedded in people’s electricity bills.
He said the energy minister, the PEA and the MEA were gathering facts before reporting back.
Anutin said the issue was not simply about whether the government wanted to avoid placing the burden on the public.
He stressed that the public must not be made to carry the burden.
