The Ministry of Industry in Thailand has urged manufacturers to seriously consider adopting renewable energy in light of rising electricity bills.
The Office of Industrial Economics (OIE) stated that the industrial sector should shift towards renewable energy sources, such as biomass or solar power, in order to alleviate financial burden caused by increasing electricity costs.
OIE Director-General Warawan Chitaroon acknowledged that the government is aware of the impact higher electricity prices have on businesses, but that the Energy Regulatory Commission can only slightly reduce the planned increase in power tariff, which is used to calculate electricity bills, from 20.5% to 13%.
The increase in power tariff, from 4.72 THB per kilowatt-hour (unit) to 5.33 THB per unit, will result in increased manufacturing costs for various sectors. The fuel tariff (Ft) is a key factor in the power tariff and is determined by the fuel cost for energy generation in the country.
Thailand's Ft is high in comparison to neighboring countries, and the OIE reported that the country's Ft rate ranks third in ASEAN, behind Singapore and the Philippines. The Federation of Thai Industries also expressed concerns about the country's Ft, stating that high energy prices can discourage foreign investment or force manufacturers to cancel existing contracts in the country.
