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Baht/$ 33.49/53
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GOLD |
14,000
- 150
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ALTERNATIVE FUELS
Retail price could be B17 below gasoline
YUTHANA PRAIWAN
The Energy Ministry will propose that the excise tax collected on E85 fuel be cut by two baht to only 0.50 baht a litre to make the alternative fuel more appealing to motorists and automakers.
The proposal is aimed at bringing down the retail price of E85, a mixture of 15% gasoline and 85% plant-based ethanol, to make it 17 baht per litre cheaper than premium gasoline, according to the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO).
The Finance Ministry earlier decided to impose an excise tax of 2.5795 baht a litre on E85, compared to 3.3165 baht on E20, a blend of 20% ethanol and 80% gasoline.
''The excise tax on E85 should be cut to 0.5528 baht a litre based on the gasoline content in the fuel,'' said EPPO secretary-general Viraphol Jirapraditkul.
PTT Plc, the country's top energy company, and Bangchak Petroleum Plc had earlier agreed to set the price of E85 at nearly 15 baht cheaper than gasoline given the ethanol content in the fuel. Ethanol is now priced at 17.50 baht a litre.
The EPPO, the Thai Automotive Institute and carmakers have also studied the possibility of importing auto parts for local assembly of flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs) in Thailand.
European car manufacturers, led by Volvo, have told the Energy Ministry that they would be ready for FFV production in Thailand within 12 months, or up to 24 months ahead of Japanese carmakers.
Local production of FFVs is expected to begin in the next 12 to 24 months, Mr Viraphol said.
Last month, the Finance Ministry announced that excise tax on FFVs would be in a range of 25% to 30%, the same rate as for E20-compatible vehicles.
Chaiwat Churitti, PTT's senior executive vice-president for the oil business, said the company had prepared a testing facility for FFV vehicles that will use the E85 being developed by its research and development centre. The company will also invest 2.5 million baht for each E85 dispenser at 15 service stations in Bangkok.
The Department of Energy Business expects to announce an E85 fuel standard to ensure the quality of the fuel when automakers start commercial production of their E85 models.
Thai government has accelerated the launch of E85 as part of a broader alternative fuel development strategy in response to high global oil prices.
Apart from ethanol, authorities aim to replace 20% of diesel use with compressed natural gas (CNG) in the transport sector by 2012.
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