Energy Ministry lines up diesel tax cut, power bill discounts as fuel crisis deepens
The Energy Ministry will propose two measures to the Cabinet tomorrow aimed at alleviating people’s financial burdens as energy prices soar.
Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said he will propose extending the excise tax cut for diesel, currently set at 5 baht per litre but due to expire on September 20. He did not say how long the measure will last or whether the tax cut will remain at 5 baht.
The other proposal is for discounts on electricity bills for households. This measure is expected to last from September to December and will see households that use 301-500 units per month receive discounts of between 15 and 75 per cent off their bills.
Households using less than 300 units per month will get a discounted per-unit rate of 0.9204 baht.
The ministry estimates that the power-bill discounts will cost the government around 2 billion baht per month or 8 billion for four months. The discounts will be funded by the 2022-2023 central and emergency government budgets.
Supattanapong added that the Energy Ministry is also in talks with the Finance Ministry to issue tax benefits for households that install solar rooftop panels. This move is aimed at getting more people to use renewable energy.
He added that since the start of the global energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, the government has spent over 200 billion baht in energy subsidies to soften impacts on the general public. Of this, 120 billion baht has been spent on the Oil Fuel Fund to subsidise prices at the pump, while about 80 billion was used by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to suppress fuel tariff rises.
Supattanapong said subsidy to Egat could soon exceed 100 billion baht if the price of natural gas in the global market continues to rise.
