Thailand
Thailand: Power bills to rise 9 satang a unit as fuel tariff hikes
The monthly electricity bill during the September-December period this year is expected to rise by 2.5% to an average of 3.59 baht per kilowatt hour, up from 3.50 baht per unit, because of the rising fuel tariff (Ft) rate.
The unit rate also rose 3.7% for the previous period, from May to August, said the Energy Regulator Commission (ERC).
Viraphol Jirapraditkul, ERC commissioner and spokesman, said the rise in power bills is largely down to an increased Ft rate of 8.87 satang per kilowatt hour, caused by higher gas prices.
He said gas makes up a bigger proportion of the country’s power generation, while other power resources faded out for seasonal reasons such as hydropower declines as less water is left in major reservoirs.
Some major coal-fired power plants scheduled their annual shutdowns for maintenance, increasing the contributions of gas-fired power plants during the year-end period.
The price of natural gas has risen by 1.57% to 245.64 baht per million British thermal units, while imported coal prices rose 3.33% to 2,718 baht per tonne.
However, the price of domestic lignite was unchanged at 693 baht per tonne and diesel prices dipped 5.3% to 20.04 baht per litre, which helped pare the rise in power bills during the period from September to December, when power demand normally rises.
Higher renewable power generation distributed to the grid this year also increases tariffs on power bills because the government subsidy paid to private renewable power-generating firms via power purchase agreements gets passed to end users. ERC estimated the feed-in tariff for state utilities purchasing power from renewable operators during September-December would total 14 billion baht. That is equivalent to a 25-satang rise per unit.
That figure is slightly higher than the renewable power tariff charged during the May-August period of 23 satang.
The 17-day gas disruption in the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area’s A18 has also pushed power costs up by 0.78 satang per unit as the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand needed to shift from natural gas to costly diesel and bunker oil.
However, the rise of the Ft rate was still lower than expected, as ERC forecast an increase of as much as 10 satang.
A stronger baht has helped absorb the rise, making dollar-denominated imported gas slightly cheaper.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1286079/power-bills-to-rise-9-satang-a-unit-as-fuel-tariff-hikes