The National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) has decided to delay the signing of power purchase agreements between authorities and 72 companies awarded licences to invest in new renewable power plants, following alleged flaws in the government auction.
The companies won the rights in bidding held under the Energy Regulatory Commission’s second-phase renewables scheme, with total power generation capacity of 3.6 gigawatts.
The regulator initially approved projects with a total capacity of 2.14GW, comprising 1.58GW of solar farms to be developed by 64 companies and 0.56GW of wind farms by eight companies.
However, some critics asked why electricity was set to be sold at the same rate as stated in the first-phase scheme, with prices calculated in 2022.
The rate must be reduced because the development of more clean power technologies should lead to lower generation costs, they said.
Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga said the NEPC had agreed the plan needed a second look.
“The prime minister, who is the chair of the NEPC, will be asked to set up a fact-finding panel to look into alleged irregularities,” he said on Wednesday after chairing a meeting of the NEPC.
At the same meeting, the council resolved to approve additional government purchases of electricity from renewable power operators for another two years as the existing agreements are due to end on Dec 31.
These operators are in the non-firm power purchase agreement category, known as “non-firm PPA”. This refers to the buying of electricity generated by the sun, wind and biomass, which are intermittent sources of power because production depends on weather conditions and seasons.
More electricity purchases from existing operators are aimed at keeping power bills affordable for households and businesses, according to the NEPC.
Solar and wind power is currently sold at 1 and 0.5 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit) respectively, which is less than the power tariff rate of 4.15 baht that will apply from January to April 2025.
The tariff rate depends mainly on prices of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the spot market, which typically fluctuate.
Gas from domestic sources and LNG imports makes up 60% of the fuels used to generate power in Thailand.
If the proportion of renewable energy from non-firm PPAs increases, the country can reduce LNG imports while farmers who sell biomass fuel can earn more income, said Mr Pirapan.
“We buy more power from this category because of its low generation costs, which will eventually help us better control power bills,” he said.
The council also approved additional purchase of electricity from the Theun Hinboun hydropower plant in Laos and the Nam Phong gas-fired power plant in Khon Kaen for another full year in 2025.
