The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has embraced a sea change for the organisation, aiming to focus more on innovation in the country's power generation to improve its operation and performance in the long run.
Egat announced this new road map after posting a net profit decline of 3.5-4% per year over the last several years, in line with a market share of power generation systems dipping to 36% as of last year from 55% over a decade ago.
Recently, Egat has failed to develop two new coal-fired power plants planned in southern Thailand.
Patana Sangsriroujana, deputy governor for policy and planning, said Egat allocated a budget for R&D activities of 3% of annual net profit.
But in 2017, it spent 600 million baht on R&D, below its target of 1 billion.
"Our R&D activities will enhance power generation efficiency and the stability of new energy resources, deal with environmental concerns and contributions from surrounding communities, and address diversification into new businesses," said Mr Patana.
Wanchai Hongcherdchai, deputy governor for accounting and finance, said the net profit decline is partially attributable to independent power generation by dozens of firms, comprising fossil-fuel-created power and renewables.
He said independent power generators have grown rapidly over the last four years, from a few hundred megawatts to nearly 3,000MW at the end of last year.
"Egat has been buying more power from renewable energy every year, eating into net profit," he said.
The authority offered support measures for renewable energy the past four years to encourage firms to set up solar rooftop power generation, cutting the cost of power consumption.
Last week, Egat started to revamp its organisational structure and administration to make the business more flexible, particularly in regard to decision-making as the company had been regulated under a bureaucratic structure for several decades.
The tentative programme includes the lean cost model and scaling down staff by recruiting only 15% replacement staff for retired or early-retired ones.
As part of the scheme, Egat will not recruit new workers to replace the 1,300 people expected to retire this year.
For executives, the company expects to downsize the number of deputy governors from 12 to seven.
Egat aims for total staff to fall from 22,000 employees now to 15,000 by 2021.