The government has ordered the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to renew the process of public participation in environmental and health impact studies before deciding whether the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Krabi can proceed.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said Tuesday the government is not backtracking on the power plant project, but has delayed it pending tripartite committee consideration.
He said the environmental health impact assessment (EHIA) and environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes, which have previously been delayed, will go ahead, though efforts must be made to clarify any misunderstandings, with the tripartite committee stepping in to help solve the problem.
The committee, comprising representatives of state agencies, including Egat, the National Legislative Assembly, and power plant protesters, was set up on Dec 17 last year to study the problem when anti-coal gatherings in Bangkok reached a peak.
The prime minister said the government is duty-bound to look for energy sources for the country.
If the construction of the coal-fired power plant goes ahead as planned, it is expected to be in operation by 2023 or 2024. If not, the people will have to shoulder increasing power bills, he added.
"In the future, if electricity fees increase, it will be because production costs are high. We cannot get anything for free. Today, we have to think of how to find energy at low cost. You also need to listen to the state," Gen Prayut said.
"If you jump to conclusions, you may be wrong. It is not my concern to build or not to build anything. I won't benefit from it. It is the country that will gain from it. I do it for the sake of the Thai people, rather than my personal benefits," the prime minister said.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting, government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the cabinet decided the project must adhere to a resolution by the National Energy Policy Committee (NEPC) and proceed with the outcome of the EHIA and related processes before the cabinet can conclude whether it should go ahead.
This means there is no need to restart the entire EHIA process, but only take into account proposals from local residents, Lt Gen Sansern said.
Lt Gen Sansern said some people thought the EHIA still lacked public participation; therefore, the cabinet wanted Egat to renew the public participation process.
The government wants any procedures that still lack clarity to be clearer, with resolutions and recommendations on 400 points by a panel of specialists, as well as a tripartite committee, along with opinions from the civil sector taken into account, Lt Gen Sansern said.
If the outcome of the new findings recommends against the coal-fired power plant, new energy sources must be found, he said.
Lt Gen Sansern said that while the protesters have called for all procedures to go back to square one, dubbed as "set zero", this in practice is the same as the government's decision to restart public participation.
Asked about any delay to the power plant project if the entire EHIA process is to be restarted, Lt Gen Sansern said that under the original plan, the power plant would have begun generating electricity in 2023.
Now there are renewed efforts to solve the problem, production may be delayed to 2024, he said.
Saharat Boonphophakdi, Egat deputy governor, said Egat submitted the EHIA report to the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy (Onep) in December, 2013.
Opinions on 165 points from a panel of specialists were added to the report later.
He said an NEPC resolution on Feb 17 that allowed Onep to restart the process of considering the EHIA does not mean the committee approved the project.
Mr Saharat also said Egat will include observations from the tripartite committee as suggested by the NEPC in the report and submit them to Onep.
Activists protesting outside Government House decided to disperse on Sunday after the government agreed to restart the EHIA process.
Five protest leaders, who were detained on Saturday, were also released shortly before the dispersal. They consisted of three key coordinators of Save the Andaman from Coal -- Prasitthichai Nunual, ML Rungkhun Kitiyakara and Akkaradet Chakchinda -- as well as Banjong Nasae, president of Thai Sea Watch Association, and Thatpong Kaedum, a local community rights activist.
The arrests came a day after the NEPC, chaired by Gen Prayut, gave the nod for the construction of the 800-megawatt plant in Nua Khlong district of Krabi.
Coal-fired power plant protesters in Krabi are apparently now satisfied about the cabinet resolution concerning the planned construction of the electricity plant.
Somnuek Klodsua, one of protest leaders, said the group believes the cabinet's decision has caused the project to be delayed for at least a year.
However, the group will closely monitor the renewal of the public participation process to see if it is transparent.
Meanwhile, Damras Prateep na Thalang, representative of the project supporters, said the group can accept the cabinet's decision as the project is not going back to square one despite the fact its EIA and EHIA have to be restarted, which will delay matters.
"At least the hope of the power plant materialising remains since the government has not scrapped it," he said.