Ministry to help low-income earners buy cooking gas at low price



BANGKOK: -- The Ministry of Energy will help low-income earners to buy cooking gas at low prices after its pricing structure of cooking gas for household use will be raised to reflect its actual cost.

The revamp of pricing structure of cooking gas for household use and for transport will be implemented in February.

Deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Energy Mr Twarath Sutabutr stated that the revamp of the cooking gas price structure will be implemented in February.

Cooking gas prices for the household and transport sectors will be raised to reflect the market price, he said.

As part of assistance measures for low income earners, the government will allow households that use under 90 units of electricity per month to purchase cooking gas at the old price.

But a limit of 18 kilograms per 3 months will be imposed.

While in case of hawkers, food vendors and small eateries, 150 kilograms, or 10 tanks, of gas per month will be allowed for them.

To be able to make gas purchases under the scheme, those eligible must register at the provincial Energy Ministry office or the Energy Service Centre in Bangkok, he stated.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/ministry-help-low-income-earners-buy-cooking-gas-low-price

-- Thai PBS 2015-01-27

How is subsidizing gas different from paying over the top for rice ? The Thai's somewhere are picking up the cost.

The price of cooking gas being increased will result in more people in rural areas making charcoal in open pits.

The air pollution in rural Thailand is already a disgrace, this can only make it worse.

How is subsidizing gas different from paying over the top for rice ? The Thai's somewhere are picking up the cost.

90kwh is very low consumption (unless you are generating your own electricity) and would indicate a pretty basic lifestyle. Now lets say the price of gas jumps B5/kg and these quite poor people (who never got a sniff of the rice scam) manage to save B90/month per household, not per person. If there were a million such households, and there may be, all receiving the maximum subsidy, after about 6,000 years the cost will be the same as the rice scam, with not a satang going into a politician's pocket AFAIK.

Notice the difference?

For a Junta that was going to codify laws against populist ideas, it seems to come up with far more populist policies than the Thaksin and Yingluck administrations combined in just its first year of rule. One would almost think that the Junta's pursuit of Happiness for the Thai people borders on unrestrained political pandering.

But of course, the Junta is nonpolitical because it says so and General Prayuth has no concern about his image as Head of Government (though he is rather dashing in his uniforms).

For a Junta that was going to codify laws against populist ideas, it seems to come up with far more populist policies than the Thaksin and Yingluck administrations combined in just its first year of rule. One would almost think that the Junta's pursuit of Happiness for the Thai people borders on unrestrained political pandering.

But of course, the Junta is nonpolitical because it says so and General Prayuth has no concern about his image as Head of Government (though he is rather dashing in his uniforms).

So political pandering, if that's what this is, is bad for the junta, but fine when used to buy an election?

You might notice this is aimed at the poorest Thais, as the rice scam was claimed to be, and is very cheap. Even more amazing, the benefit will go to the intended recipients.

This type of ridiculous micro managment of subsidies doesn't work and is massively open to abuse.

The inevitability is a welfare state, where is you are destitute, the govt gives you money and you live, because it is simply easier to adminster than all of this type of tiny micro law to alleviate the market.

Alas, that would close loopholes and stop people corruption which isn't going to be carried out by the really poor guy but rather some bazillionaire LPG truck oiperator or a restaurant owner doing a fiddle.

These populist schemes open the door to abuse and fraud, it doesn't take much for the locals

to find a way to bilk the system and before you know it this seam will cost billions.....