With the scorching weather on the night of April 22, Thais battled the heat by cranking up their air conditioners, leading to a surge in electricity usage to a new peak around 9 p.m.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) reported that Thai electricity consumption skyrocketed, breaking consecutive peak records. The latest surge occurred at 8:57 p.m. last night, reaching 35,550.9 megawatts, which is 1,420.4 megawatts higher than the previous year, marking a 4.2% increase. The accumulated extreme heat during the daytime contributed to this surge.
Despite electricity rates per unit remaining unchanged in the first eight months of this year, Thailand employs a tiered pricing system where the more electricity used, the higher the rate per unit becomes, resulting in increased costs for consumers.
With the scorching months in this summer, this surge in electricity usage has already happened five times this year.
While the Ministry of Energy ensures adequate electricity and fuel supply, the increasing production costs due to the rising prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the weakening baht will inevitably lead to increased costs for consumers in the future. (TNA)
