Former senator proposes ways to cut energy prices

Former Senator Rosana Tositrakul, a staunch advocate for reform of the energy pricing structure, has proposed a set of measures to cut electricity and fuel prices on a sustainable basis, instead of the short-term remedies expected to be rolled out by the government.

She identified the key areas which need to be addressed to bring the prices down, among them are excess electricity generated or to be generated by the independent power producers (IPPs), the availability payment charged by the IPPs under the “take-or-pay” clause in the contracts between IPPS and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), the cost of fuel sold to EGAT by a subsidiary of PTT Public Company for power generation and the excise tax charged on fuel oil.

Rosana explained that PTT has been supplying EGAT with natural gas from the Gulf of Thailand and Myanmar, as well as imported LNG, for…