Fuel tariff increase drives up electricity pricing

[webfact]

   

BANGKOK (NNT) - Thailand’s energy regulator has decided to raise the FT rate from January to April of 2022 due to the increasing energy prices around the globe. This tariff increase would effectively raise the pricing on electricity bills to 3.78 baht per unit, starting next year.

 

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)’s Secretary General Komkrit Tantravanich said this tariff increase is the result of the weakening currency exchange rate, the seasonal reduction of electricity imports from foreign hydropower plants, lower electricity production from the planned decommissioning of Mae Moh lignite power plant, the increase of natural gas prices in line with the rising global fuel prices, and the increase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to compensate for the dwindling natural gas supply from sources in the Gulf of Thailand.

 

This rate adjustment will increase the final electricity price by 4.63% to 3.78 baht per unit, marking the country’s first FT rate increase in 2 years.

 

Despite the increase, Mr. Komkrit said the final electricity price will remain under that of 2015.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2021-11-20

 

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[soi3eddie]

If only we had such clear and transparent pricing of energy in the UK! With all the so called "competition" from the private companies it's impossible to tell the price per KWH unit (especially gas). At least here in Thailand, electricity prices are very reasonable but the lack of insulation and older air conditioning units can be a problem for many users.

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by soi3eddie

[Gsxrnz]

That's a fairly nominal increase but every satang counts for poorer Thai.  Still, I can't see too many of them gluing their face to the road in protest.

[Will B Good]

12 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

If only we had such clear and transparent pricing of energy in the UK! With all the so called "competition" from the private companies it's impossible to tell the price per KWH unit (especially gas). At least here in Thailand, electricity prices are very reasonable but the lack of insulation and older air conditioning units can be a problem for many users.

 

Agreed....certain things should remain under government (or at least NGO) control......energy, water, roads, rail, local buses.......opening them up to so called competition has been an unmitigated disaster .

[Gsxrnz]

17 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Agreed....certain things should remain under government (or at least NGO) control......energy, water, roads, rail, local buses.......opening them up to so called competition has been an unmitigated disaster .

I think the clincher in your comment is "so called competition".  I'm not overly familiar with the UK system but I know in NZ that the privatization of energy supply is definitely a classic cockup. 

 

The reason being that government will not get out of the way of private enterprise. They have so much legislation and compliance law that a true capitalist is unable to do what they want to do - sell a product/service in a sustainable and profitable manner.  Government won't let them.

 

There's a reason why we haven't let  government be responsible for the production of beer.

[Will B Good]

Just now, Gsxrnz said:

I think the clincher in your comment is "so called competition".  I'm not overly familiar with the UK system but I know in NZ that the privatization of energy supply is definitely a classic cockup. 

 

The reason being that government will not get out of the way of private enterprise. They have so much legislation and compliance law that a true capitalist is unable to do what they want to do - sell a product/service in a sustainable and profitable manner.  Government won't let them.

 

There's a reason why we haven't let  government be responsible for the production of beer.

The "family silver" was sold off in the 80's to fund massive increases in pension and pay for the police and armed forces....keeping them sweet as the industrial north and mining was crushed.

 

The rightwing obsession with free market competition then went into overdrive selling off services that don't lend themselves to competition........energy distribution, water (for heavens sake). Local bus routes were decimated as no one will run unprofitable routes.....and so on.

 

[Pedrogaz]

Why is electricity so expensive in Thailand? For me a/c is essential for quality of life and I get stuck with truly massive bills. It is my biggest bill, bigger than my car insurance, but I get it every month instead of every year. I need a smaller house.

[keithkarmann]

10 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

Why is electricity so expensive in Thailand? For me a/c is essential for quality of life and I get stuck with truly massive bills. It is my biggest bill, bigger than my car insurance, but I get it every month instead of every year. I need a smaller house.

The big users pay more to subsidise the very low users who pay nothing. A sort of dual pricing which I do not object to as the poorer people in Thailand do not have a lot of cash, especially where I live.

[billd766]

41 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

Why is electricity so expensive in Thailand? For me a/c is essential for quality of life and I get stuck with truly massive bills. It is my biggest bill, bigger than my car insurance, but I get it every month instead of every year. I need a smaller house.

My main a/c downstairs is set to 25C and is only used for a couple of months a year and my bedroom is set for 29C and is used in the afternoons for a couple of hours and at night. When the temp drops below 29C it is only the fan which is running.

 

 

[John Drake]

1 hour ago, Pedrogaz said:

Why is electricity so expensive in Thailand? For me a/c is essential for quality of life and I get stuck with truly massive bills. It is my biggest bill, bigger than my car insurance, but I get it every month instead of every year. I need a smaller house.

Must you cool your entire house, instead of just room by room?

[daveAustin]

3 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

If only we had such clear and transparent pricing of energy in the UK! With all the so called "competition" from the private companies it's impossible to tell the price per KWH unit (especially gas). At least here in Thailand, electricity prices are very reasonable but the lack of insulation and older air conditioning units can be a problem for many users.

 

Heard that. Just had a 60-70% rise. It’s all across Europe. Water is a killer because you also pay a sewage rate. Thailand’s utilities are cheap and simple. While it’s all relative, count yourselves lucky you’re not seeing huge percentage increases. 

[daveAustin]

1 hour ago, Pedrogaz said:

Why is electricity so expensive in Thailand? For me a/c is essential for quality of life and I get stuck with truly massive bills. It is my biggest bill, bigger than my car insurance, but I get it every month instead of every year. I need a smaller house.

It’s cheap! Suggest upping the temp, get out more, don’t cool whole house, get a better house, acquire newer units, move to cooler part of country. ????

[StayinThailand2much]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

This rate adjustment will increase the final electricity price by 4.63% to 3.78 baht per unit (...)

My landlady is way ahead! She already charges 9 baht per unit...

Edited November 20, 2021 by StayinThailand2much

[sandyf]

2 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

Why is electricity so expensive in Thailand? For me a/c is essential for quality of life and I get stuck with truly massive bills. It is my biggest bill, bigger than my car insurance, but I get it every month instead of every year. I need a smaller house.

You really do need to look at your lifestyle.

We had our bill yesterday and for the last three months came to 2457 baht, the same period last year was 5032 baht and that same period since 2012 has fallen between 4500 and 5500.

It has been exceptionally cool this autumn, hardly used the aircon and consistently having to use the electric shower.

[Andycoops]

Air conditioning racks up most of my bill but this time of year when it cools down it can decrease by 40-50 per cent.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, Gsxrnz said:

That's a fairly nominal increase but every satang counts for poorer Thai.  Still, I can't see too many of them gluing their face to the road in protest.

They'd have to un-glue it from their mobile phones first.

[AgMech Cowboy]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)’s Secretary General Komkrit Tantravanich said this tariff increase is the result of the...

blah, blah, blah and inflation.

[Elkski]

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

My main a/c downstairs is set to 25C and is only used for a couple of months a year and my bedroom is set for 29C and is used in the afternoons for a couple of hours and at night. When the temp drops below 29C it is only the fan which is running.

 

 

I like 19c in the bedroom.  In winter this requires may gas heat. In summer I feel I can can  live with 24.4c due but would like lower if not so expensive to run aircon. 

[andersonat]

Deleted.

Edited November 20, 2021 by andersonat

[topt]

6 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

If only we had such clear and transparent pricing of energy in the UK! With all the so called "competition" from the private companies it's impossible to tell the price per KWH unit (especially gas).

Who are you with? 

Previously Igloo, recently bust, and now Eon both show rate per day and per kWh in their online "dashboards"-

Electricity

Next Flex

21.78 p/kWh 28.69 p/day

(All rates inc. VAT)

 

Gas

Next Flex

4.39 p/kWh 30.78 p/day

(All rates inc. VAT)

[itsari]

6 hours ago, Will B Good said:

The "family silver" was sold off in the 80's to fund massive increases in pension and pay for the police and armed forces....keeping them sweet as the industrial north and mining was crushed.

 

The rightwing obsession with free market competition then went into overdrive selling off services that don't lend themselves to competition........energy distribution, water (for heavens sake). Local bus routes were decimated as no one will run unprofitable routes.....and so on.

 

The family silver as you put it was becoming a liability to the family . The assets needed to be disposed of because costs were too high for keeping the silver .

Something had to change . Change is not always how one plans , but it was  an improvement on how it was .

[Golden Triangle]

Only use aircon in lounge at 27° for a an hour in the evening to cool the room while we eat dinner, the bedroom is also set at 27° and only on for an hour or 2, we have a large ceiling fan which does the job, plus after 10 years I'm pretty much acclimatised now, although I still feel it a bit in the hot months. 

[itsari]

4 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

Why is electricity so expensive in Thailand? For me a/c is essential for quality of life and I get stuck with truly massive bills. It is my biggest bill, bigger than my car insurance, but I get it every month instead of every year. I need a smaller house.

How can i disagree as it is certainly my largest bill per month . But I have to say the job of distributing electricity around a country is an expensive business  . The infrastructure and maintenance costs are huge without calculating  in the raw energy costs .

[sezze]

4 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

Why is electricity so expensive in Thailand? For me a/c is essential for quality of life and I get stuck with truly massive bills. It is my biggest bill, bigger than my car insurance, but I get it every month instead of every year. I need a smaller house.

Maybe try live somewhere else , your eyes will open if you see what we pay over here in europe ( and no it isn't less then Thailand ...) . IMHO electricity is extremely cheap in Thailand .

[Golden Triangle]

Our bill for a 3 bed 2 bathroom place at this time of year runs out about 1250 baht, not got the bill for this month yet, but due in 2 or 3 days, certainly not my biggest expense.

 

Just found last months electric bill, 1350 Baht, nowt wrong with that, when I lived in the UK my monthly payment was £52.00, that was a single bloke, living on his own in a 2 bed house, working 12 hour shifts, all electric. £52.00 = 2,295,58 at today's rate.

Edited November 20, 2021 by Golden Triangle
Extra info

[Muhendis]

My last electricity bill was 105 Baht and that only because my off grid solar is not enough to power my rice mill.

 

My only gripe with electricity companies/government in Thailand is that I cannot get a reasonable feed in tariff to make it worth going for a legal grid tie system.

[itsari]

10 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

My last electricity bill was 105 Baht and that only because my off grid solar is not enough to power my rice mill.

 

My only gripe with electricity companies/government in Thailand is that I cannot get a reasonable feed in tariff to make it worth going for a legal grid tie system.

What is the cost per kw hour for your off grid system ? 

Probably not an easy question to answer . Many factors to consider 

[sezze]

12 minutes ago, itsari said:

What is the cost per kw hour for your off grid system ? 

Probably not an easy question to answer . Many factors to consider 

Check out the " alternative energy " topic , plenty of examples and prices there .

[KhunBENQ]

5 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

Why is electricity so expensive in Thailand?

Typical price about 4.2 Baht/kWh which is:

~0.113 EUR

~0.128 USD

~0.095 GBP

...

Price in Germany about three times as expensive.

What's the price in your country?

 

Yes you probably need a smaller house.

Edited November 20, 2021 by KhunBENQ

[billd766]

2 hours ago, Elkski said:

I like 19c in the bedroom.  In winter this requires may gas heat. In summer I feel I can can  live with 24.4c due but would like lower if not so expensive to run aircon. 

Can I assume that at 19C in your bedroom you are wrapped in a thick quilt to keep warm. If you are, I suggest that you turn the stat up to 25 to 29C and get a thinner bed covering.