Latest news with #Egat
Bangkok Post
2 hours ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Cheaper power bills seen on the horizon
The prices of electricity bills will become slightly cheaper during the last four months of the year as authorities have agreed to decrease the power tariff by 0.03 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit), says Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga. The current power tariff, used to calculate monthly electricity bills, is 3.98 baht a unit, and is applicable until the end of August. The latest reduction followed recent talks held between the Energy Ministry and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat). Mr Pirapan did not elaborate on the reasons behind the lower tariff, saying it is broadly related to cheaper liquefied natural gas (LNG), a key fuel for the nation's power generation, and financial management. "The price of imported LNG is trending downward and authorities can help Egat deal with financial issues," he said. China's decision to reduce LNG imports, partly resulting from its move to increase domestic natural gas production, plays a key role in easing supply pressure on other Asian nations. LNG prices in the Asian spot market fell to US$11 per million British thermal units (BTU) in May, down from $16.5 million BTUs in February, according to online energy news website Part of the price of electricity bills is required to reimburse Egat and national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc for their past electricity price subsidy programmes during a surge in LNG prices. Egat runs a loss of 66 billion baht while PTT shoulders a financial burden of 15 billion baht. The need to pay back money to Egat and PTT is one major reason behind expensive electricity bills, although, according to the Energy Regulatory Committee (ERC), gas prices, including LNG, are likely to decrease during the final four months of 2025. The ERC earlier set the minimum power tariff from September to December at 3.98 and offered another two options — rates of 4.87 and 5.10 baht — for people to choose from during its online public consultation during July 17-28. The higher the power tariff, the quicker money can be repaid to Egat and PTT.
Bangkok Post
18-07-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Commission to maintain current power tariff
Electricity bills during the last four months of this year will not be further reduced as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has decided to maintain the current power tariff despite positive factors that could lead to a lower rate. The tariff rate, which is used to determine electricity prices, stands at 3.98 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit), applicable until the end of August. The 3.98-baht rate is among three options the ERC unveiled yesterday to seek the public's opinion. The others were 4.87 and 5.10 baht a unit. "The power tariff remains high as we need to allocate parts of electricity bills to reimburse Egat and PTT," said Poonapat Leesombatpiboon, secretary-general of the ERC. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) previously spent money on subsidising electricity prices, incurring a loss of over 66 billion baht, while national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc's earlier subsidy programme resulted in a loss of more than 15 billion baht. Higher power tariff rates mean more money will be paid back to Egat and PTT. The ERC set the minimum rate at 3.98 baht a unit, though projected gas and lignite prices, foreign exchange rates and power demand are conducive to setting lower rates. Gas prices, including liquefied natural gas, are expected to decrease by 4.5% to 299 baht per million British thermal units in the last four months of 2025, down from a projected 313 baht per million BTU between May and August, while lignite prices are believed to fall by 7% to 3,600 baht a tonne. Gas and lignite make up more than 60% of fuels used for power generation in Thailand. Power demand is projected to decrease by 8.2% to 72.2 billion kilowatts-hour due to lower temperatures. This enables authorities to distribute electricity, mainly supplied by inexpensive power generation facilities such as coal-fired power plants and hydropower plants. During September and December, the baht is expected to appreciate to 32.9 against the greenback, causing importers to buy gas and coal at lower prices, he said. People are being asked to choose which rates they prefer -- 3.98, 4.87 or 5.10 baht a unit -- on the ERC's website from July 17 through July 28. The 5.10-baht rate would allow Egat and PTT to clear all their financial burdens within December this year while the 4.87-baht rate would be sufficient to pay off the debt owed to Egat. The 3.98-baht rate would only pay back part of Egat's debt, worth 7.07 billion baht.
Bangkok Post
13-07-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Thailand set to finally embrace nuclear power
A proposal to install small modular reactors (SMRs) in Thailand looks set to gain momentum amid corporate interest in using the technology to ensure stable power supplies and support the national plan to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Ratch Group, the power generation arm of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), Global Power Synergy Plc, a subsidiary of national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc, as well as Saha Pathanapibul International Plc, a consumer product conglomerate, are key supporters of SMRs, said a private sector electricity executive who requested anonymity. Their interest in nuclear power is in line with the government's plan to push for SMR installation, part of efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Global Power Synergy recently announced it was conducting a feasibility study in response to growing power demand and a desire to achieve its decarbonisation goal. The executive was speaking about the perception of the state and private perception of nuclear technology ahead of a seminar titled "A Global Dialogue on SMR Deployment", to be held on July 16 in Bangkok. The one-day seminar, co-sponsored by Ratch and Saha Pathanapibul International, aims to give updates on the SMR trend and provide an opportunity for experts and nuclear power enthusiasts to exchange views. An SMR is a form of nuclear power technology with a capacity of up to 300 megawatts per unit, about one-third of the generating capacity of larger, traditional nuclear power reactors, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. "We want to educate people on SMRs before the power development plan [PDP] is enforced," said the executive. Under the PDP, scheduled for implementation from 2024 to 2037, two SMRs, each with a capacity of 300MW, will be developed and will commence operations towards the end of the plan. The SMRs could be developed and run by Egat. Thailand initially tried to adopt nuclear power technology during the 1970s, with Egat set to be a project developer, but the plan was aborted, following the discovery of natural gas in the Gulf of Thailand in the early 1980s. Authorities included nuclear energy in the 2010 PDP, with a nuclear power project with a total capacity of 2,000MW set to commence operations in 2020 or 2021, but it was removed from the PDP in 2011 following the nuclear reactor meltdown caused by a tsunami in Fukushima, Japan. Nuclear energy experts said an SMR is designed to be safer and better deal with environmental concerns. An SMR uses natural circulation and a gravity-driven system to remove heat. This allows an SMR to avoid the damaging impact of power outage that can cause the electricity-powered cooling system, used by traditional nuclear power plants, not to work properly.
Bangkok Post
29-06-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Gulf hits renewable target 5 years early
SET-listed Gulf Development, Thailand's largest energy company by market value and a telecom operator, has achieved its target to increase its renewable power proportion to 40% of total electricity generation capacity following a recent investment in solar farms. The company reached the goal ahead of the target year of 2030. "If we calculate our renewable power generation only for power plants in operation, the proportion is 10%. But if we include projects recently signed with the government, then we meet the 40% target," said Yupapin Wangviwat, chief financial officer of Gulf. "These projects are set to start commercial operation soon." Gulf recently announced it spent 704 million baht through its wholly-owned subsidiary Gulf Renewable Energy Co to acquire a 50% share in Gunkul Solar Powergen Co and another 50% share in Gunkul One Energy 2 Co. The two firms, subsidiaries of SET-listed Gunkul Engineering, an integrated clean energy developer, are preparing to develop nine solar farms with combined capacity of 461 megawatts. The firms won licences to develop the solar farms in an auction held under the Energy Regulatory Commission's renewable energy scheme that had a total capacity of 5.3 gigawatts. Gunkul already signed power purchase agreements with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to sell electricity from the solar farms. The facilities, which will supply power to Egat for 25 years, are scheduled to start commercial operations between 2026 and 2030. Ms Yupapin said additional renewable energy capacity will enable Gulf to supply clean power to its clients, notably data centre developers. Gulf announced earlier it would develop a data centre with an IT load of 25MW, scheduled to open in the middle of this year. The company is adopting a cautious approach to new investment this year to avoid risks caused by global economic and political uncertainties. Geopolitical conflicts in many parts of the world and a trade war among major economies can affect businesses in the energy sector. These conflicts may weaken consumer purchasing power, eventually affecting electricity demand, Sarath Ratanavadi, chief executive of Gulf, said earlier.
