Ministry sets sights on boosting access to electricity

Speaking at a seminar on the direction of the energy industry, hosted on Wednesday by the Thansettakit newspaper, Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said the revision would offer investment opportunities for the private sector and on a community basis with the establishment of a community power plant. 
Communities will be able to buy back shares from the investment, which will focus on renewable power plants. He also instructed related state agencies to map out zones for the establishment of community power plants and keep them within reach of the transmission network. 
Sontirat also asked the Energy Conservation Fund, which will be financing this move, to revise its criteria for seeking funding to support the promotion of this community power plant development and come up with a proposal for his consideration next week. The fund has a budget of Bt12 billion.
The minister said the PDP revision must also be in line with Thailand’s policy of becoming Asean’s power hub. If all plans are achieved, the price of electricity in Thailand will drop to less than Bt3.576 per unit – a target that should be achieved in the next 20 years as set in the current PDP. 
He added that though he cannot specify when the PDP revision will be completed, as it requires the opinion of many parties, he promised that the review will not affect existing projects.