The cabinet has approved a budget of 1.7 billion baht to support measures to reduce electricity bills for 21 million vulnerable citizens from January to April.
According to Karom Polpornklang, deputy government spokesman, the cabinet yesterday agreed in principle to the measures aimed at alleviating the electricity cost burden for people and assigned the Energy Ministry and relevant agencies to implement them.
The implementation is meant to be swift, but must comply with legal procedures and related regulations as proposed by the Energy Ministry, said Mr Karom.
He said the measure is a continuation of the previous initiative from September to December 2024.
The objective is to ease the cost of living for vulnerable groups as power bills remain elevated.
In addition, the measure aims to support economic growth in line with government targets, said Mr Karom.
The proposal assists households that use up to 300 units of electricity per month, offering discounts on electricity bills.
The beneficiaries include residential electricity users in the service areas of the Metropolitan Electricity Authority and the Provincial Electricity Authority, small-scale residential electricity users under the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, and electricity users in the service area of the Royal Thai Navy Welfare Concession Electricity Operations.
Eligible households receive a discount of 16.05 satang per unit for four months, from January to April.
Over the four-month period, 21.3 million people are expected to benefit from the measure, with a total budget allocation of around 1.7 billion baht (425 million baht per month).