Manufacturers are examining how the government's energy price cuts will help their businesses as Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) warns about negative long-term impacts from the policy.
The Srettha Thavisin cabinet resolved to reduce the power tariff to 3.99 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit) between September and December, down from 4.45 baht a unit, and keep the retail price of diesel below 30 baht a litre, a decrease from 31.94 baht a litre.
The resolution was one of the first policies of the government, aiming to help businesses and households cope with the impact of high energy prices.
Weerachat Kittiratanapaiboon, chief executive of Biodegradable Packaging for Environment Co (BPE), told the Bangkok Post the company needs time to evaluate how the energy price reduction will help cut operating costs.
BPE is a Thai manufacturer of food and beverage containers made from agricultural refuse.
Dr Weerachat said he does not believe the policy will lead to large cuts in power bills, significantly reducing costs.
A physician-turned-businessman, he said high energy prices caused BPE to install rooftop solar panels several years ago.
With a power generation capacity of three megawatts, solar power now replaces 40% of the electricity the company used from the state grid.
Earlier the Federation of Thai Industries said it welcomes the lower power tariff, but it wants the government to come up with ways to ease expensive electricity bills in a more sustainable way.
The measures to control energy prices may be effective in the short term, but without a serious inquiry into flaws in the national energy price structure, costly electricity and oil will return, the federation said.
The government should develop careful plans for Thai energy prices, said TDRI senior researcher Chakorn Loetnithat and Siripha Junlakarn, a researcher from Chulalongkorn University's Energy Research Institute.
They wrote an article on the direction of the country's electricity bills days after the cabinet approved the energy price measures last month.
The lower power tariff means a longer payment period to reimburse the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat).
Part of the power tariff must be paid to Egat to help it settle huge losses after it subsidised electricity bills between September 2021 and May 2023, easing the impact of higher fuel prices for households and businesses.
"The extension of the payment period may affect Egat's cash on hand and its long-term development of smart energy to cope with global warming," the researchers said.
In addition, if the energy measures continue for a long time, people will not worry about saving energy, wrote the researchers.
They suggested the energy measures be short-term to ease the financial burden on public debt.