FTI urges government to provide relief in fuel costs
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) asked the government to slow down the increase in fuel tariff (FT) from January to April 2023 to reduce the burden of high energy costs.
FTI vice chairman Isares Rattanadilok na Phuket said on Tuesday that energy price is currently fluctuating and is likely to increase continuously due to the Ukraine-Russia war and the Covid-19 situation.
These situations have caused inflation and recession, and industries, including the manufacturing, servicing, and household sectors, were greatly affected.
He said that the FTI had earlier sent a letter to Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow and Samerjai Suksumek, chairman of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), between August and November.
The federation had contacted them to seek a solution on energy costs and natural gas price structure, and sought a slowdown in the rate of FT cost but had not got an answer.
The FTI proposed to the government sector to reconsider and postpone the increase of FT cost from January to April 2023 and solve the problem at its root because every sector will have to shoulder the burden.
Isares said, “If [the FT cost] increases again in January to April 2023, electricity bills would go up substantially for two consecutive times and would affect every sector severely in adapting, causing recession worse than expected”.
Meanwhile, it will decrease Thailand’s competitiveness as the manufacturing and service sectors are major industrial sectors driving the country’s economy.
The government should review the guidelines to solve high energy costs and the decision to increase the electricity bill to be fair to every sectors so that businesses can operate with strengthen and compete on the global stage while also creating opportunities for investments in new industries.
Isares also asked the government to ease some operating obstacles such as getting a licence for factories or installing solar cells.
He also wanted cooperation with the Board of Investment to be quick and cover every business group. He suggested adjusting the oil formula of ethanol and gasoline.
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