Contracts for operators of Independent Power Producers (IPP) may be granted extensions for a maximum period of six years each time, while private operators will have to be responsible for environment matters, said Viraphol Jirapraditkul, a commissioner of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Viraphol said the public must be allowed to oversee IPP operations while the selling prices of electricity must not exceed contracted selling prices.
An extension of IPP contracts could help solve problems in cases where new electricity generating plants are unable to deliver according to their signed agreements, he said.
It could be assured that there would be no shortage of electricity for consumption, said Viraphol.
He said the commission is accelerating conclusions of new contracts for both IPP and the Small Power Producers (SPP) with combined capacity of about 6,000 megawatts whose contracts would expire in the next four to five years.
Regulations for IPP are now concluded and they have been sent to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to negotiate with private operators, while regulations covering SPP would be concluded soon, he added.
