The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) plans to ask the government to jointly set up a panel to deal with high power bills, which are discouraging foreign businesses from investing in Thailand.
Though the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) decided last week to reduce the power tariff hike scheduled for January to April, the new rate is still deterring entrepreneurs, leading to the call for a public-private panel to restructure energy price management, said Kriengkrai Thiennukul, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, a member of the JSCCIB.
The ERC initially planned to raise the power tariff by 20.5% from 4.72 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit), but later slightly cut the increase to 13%, with the new power tariff at 5.33 baht per unit.
The move followed an order from Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to reduce power bills for businesses after he received a petition for help from key business groups, including the JSCCIB.
"The new rate remains high, compared with that of Vietnam," said Mr Kriengkrai.
"The new power tariff still drives up production costs, causing manufacturers to increase product prices by 5-10%, though the increase fell from a range of 5-12%."
The JSCCIB expects the new panel to find ways to better manage the fuel tariff (Ft), a key element used to calculate the power tariff, in the long term. The group said the current practice to adjust the Ft every four months may be too often.
"Thailand's Ft is higher than that of Vietnam. Some businesses here are unable to afford higher power bills and can lose competition internationally," he said.
High energy prices may cause foreign investors to delay investment plans in Thailand. Some investors that signed investment agreements with Thai companies decided to cancelled the deals because of this problem, said Mr Kriengkrai.
He said the government plan to buy more electricity generated by renewable fuels is positive, but additional power supply must not increase the country's power generation capacity in reserve as this will lead to higher electricity costs.
The JSCCIB already set up a task force to work on electricity price issues and is ready to work with the government if it agrees to form the joint panel, said Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
The JSCCIB yesterday maintained its GDP growth forecast for 2023 at 3-3.5%. The export sector is expected to grow by 1-2% and inflation is expected to tally 2.7-3.2%.