BANGKOK, Thailand – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Pirapan Salirathavibhaga has reflected on a productive 2024, highlighting major accomplishments and outlining plans for 2025. Key achievements included stabilizing electricity prices at 4.18 baht per unit for general consumers and 3.99 baht for vulnerable groups. These rates will remain steady at 4.15 baht per unit through April 2025, ensuring affordability. Progress was also made on a petroleum business regulation draft that introduces cost-plus pricing, bans daily price fluctuations, and provides lower fuel costs for farmers, fishers, and transport operators.
Efforts to expand solar energy adoption advanced with the submission of the Solar Rooftop Promotion Law to Parliament in December 2024. The legislation helps simplify installation processes by replacing prior approvals with a notification system. Plans for 2025 include promoting domestic production of affordable solar inverters, with prototypes already passing initial testing. Additional measures, such as tax deductions for solar equipment purchases and funding from the Energy Conservation Promotion Fund, are being developed to make solar energy more accessible.
A major priority for 2025 is drafting a Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) law to ensure energy security by transitioning from private reserves to a national system with a minimum 90-day fuel supply. The initiative is expected to reduce fuel prices between 2.50 and 4.00 baht per liter by replacing public contributions to the Fuel Fund with contributions from oil traders, reducing consumer costs while maintaining stability in the energy sector. (NNT)
