Energy ghost resurrected
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Energy ghost resurrected

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Each new government must apparently now have its own "flagship" energy policy.

For newly installed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, this concerns the development of natural gas in an overlapping maritime jurisdiction claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia.

According to her vision, natural gas exploration will help the government control or reduce the price of electricity. It is worth noting that 60% of the country's electricity is derived from natural gas.

Lest we forget, our premier inherited this policy from her father, Thaksin, who came up with this gas project almost two decades ago.

It is something of a surprise to see this policy back on the radar at a time when governments around the world are experimenting with alternative energy sources like wind, solar, hydrogen or even nuclear technology, which is becoming increasingly affordable.

The bigger question is: What exactly is Ms Paetongtarn's government's renewable energy policy?

On Thursday she told parliament in a few sentences that her government will develop and promote solar energy in order to help the country reduce its emissions and some homeowners to scale back their electricity costs. However she refrained from explaining how she proposes to execute this.

Ms Paetongtarn must not forget the government announced in 2021 at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference that 50% of the energy used in Thailand would be clean and renewable by 2050, with the net-zero target being met by 2065.

Indeed, the country has set a goal that 30% of its energy must be renewable by 2037.

In reality, things have been moving in the opposite direction.

For now, the share of renewable energy in Thailand is about 15%. Solar is about 3,000 megawatts, tiny compared to the 35,000 megawatts of electricity the nation consumes each year.

But most of the solar energy panels have been installed by the commercial and industrial sectors. Past governments have failed to help individuals and house owners put these in place to produce their own electricity.

The Energy Ministry launched its "Residential Solar Project" almost two decades ago but it barely made a dent due to a lack of incentives. Moreover, state utilities have not been investing any money to upgrade the national grid that allows households to sell power to them.

Meanwhile, successive governments keep signing deals to purchase electricity from private power plants and hydro dams, despite their reserve margin being abundant.

Renewable energy experts have urged the government to adopt a "net-metering process" so that households that produce their own electricity can sell power to the national grid and receive money equal to their electric bill -- about 4 baht per unit instead of the 2 baht per unit they get at present.

In September 2022, then-caretaker prime minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon ordered the ministry and state-run energy enterprises to introduce this. It was seen as a game changer but the ministry and other agencies refused to comply, blaming the complicated VAT tax system or the "unstable" national grid.

Hopefully, the premier supports this net metering policy and the government will spend more to update smart grids to facilitate such power trading.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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