The Cabinet has appointed Thepparat Theppitak, the current president of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) subsidiary EGCO, as the new EGAT governor, entrusting him with the task of addressing the organization’s financial challenges.
This decision was made during a special meeting held on Sunday (Mar 3), ahead of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s trip to Australia, a shift from the regular Tuesday schedule. Thepparat is set to succeed Boonyanit Wongrukmit, whose term ended on August 21 of last year.
The new governor faces the daunting task of managing rising energy costs and improving EGAT’s liquidity, which has been under pressure due to the Cabinet’s directive to absorb fuel tariff costs in power billing. Despite having around 100 billion baht available, EGAT has been grappling with these financial strains, particularly after the extension of the FT subsidy from last December to April, with potential further extension until year-end. This subsidy requires the energy body to maintain the per-unit electricity rate at 3.99 baht despite production costs amounting to 4.45 baht per unit.
Thepparat brings to the role a background in mechanical engineering from Chiang Mai University and advanced studies in electricity industry management and technology from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. (NNT)
