The Energy Ministry should maintain the price difference between gasohol and petrol to prevent people from switching to petrol in the wake of sliding world oil prices, said the Etl Producers Association.
Siriwut Siampakdee, the association’s president, said the downward trend of global oil prices began affecting the use of ethanol, the major additive in gasohol, as consumers might shift to use petrol.
He said the price war between the world's major crude producers had dragged down ex-refinery oil prices to 14-15 baht a litre on average but the ethanol cost was higher, at 24-25 baht a litre, resulting in a higher cost for oil traders.
Though the petrol cost after taking into account the tax and levy to the state Oil Fund would stay at around 30 baht a litre, it may still attract motorists to fill their tanks with petrol instead of gasohol.
Mr Siriwut viewed that the cheaper oil prices would benefit the public but the government needed to maintain the price gap between alternative energy and fossil fuels.
If it fails to sustain the usage levels of gasohol, particularly for E10 or E20, it would take at least five to six years to boost the usage to the current level of 3.4 to 3.5 million litres a day, he warned.
An Energy Ministry source said the National Energy Policy Council will discuss on Monday the gasohol levy to the Oil Fund in order to give consumers a reason to keep using the alternative energy.
Pump prices per litre in Bangkok and nearby provinces are: petrol 95 (37.06 baht); gasohol 95 (29.50 baht); gasohol 91 (27.78 baht); gasohol E20 (26.18 baht); gasohol E85 (22.28 baht); and, diesel (26.39 baht).