Caretaker Cabinet seeks approval for 10.4 Billion baht subsidy cut on household power bills

The caretaker Cabinet is set to submit a revised proposal to the Election Commission (EC) for approval of a reduced subsidy of 10.464 billion baht for household power bills, a 648 million baht decrease compared to the previous request that was turned down by the regulator.

The initial proposal called for an 11.112 billion baht subsidy, which would be funded by the government’s central fund. However, the EC rejected the proposal last week, citing that the supporting document had not mentioned its origin from a cabinet resolution.

Anucha Burapachaisri, the government’s acting spokesperson, mentioned that the caretaker Cabinet endorsed a new proposal yesterday, and it aims to use the reduced amount from the central fund for household power bill subsidies. The caretaker Cabinet’s financial authority is currently limited while awaiting the formation of a new government following the May 14 General Election.

Anucha highlighted two measures included in the proposal. Firstly, the current power subsidy would be extended for another four months until August, benefiting 18.32 million households that consume less than 300 units per month. Approximately 6.954 billion baht will be drawn from the central fund, a decrease from the originally proposed 7.602 billion baht, following the Energy Regulatory Commission‘s decision to cut charges by seven satang per unit for four months.

Households consuming between one and 150 units per month would receive a reduction of 92.04 satang per unit, with the Ft charge lowered by 1.39 satang per unit. Meanwhile, those using 151 to 300 units per month would receive a reduction of 67.04 satang per unit, with the Ft charge decreased by 26.39 satang per unit.

Under the second measure, households that consume no more than 500 units will receive a reduction of 150 baht each for May only. This would require a subsidy of 3.510 billion baht and benefit around 23.4 million households, according to Anucha.

In addition, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha stated that the government’s measures designed to subsidise electricity bills have only been guaranteed for May. The prime minister expressed that the caretaker Cabinet hopes that the EC will approve the revisited compensation measures in time for this month’s bill.