The government is looking into electricity costs to find a way to lower prices as proposed by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said.
He was responding to comments by Thaksin, the de facto leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, who told voters in Chiang Rai that the government would later this year bring electricity bills to as low as 3.70 baht per unit.
The estimated household electricity price from this month until April is 4.15 baht per unit, said Mr Pichai, also the finance minister, on Wednesday.
The government is responsible for finding ways to lower electricity prices to well below 4 baht per unit, which is part of government policy to shoulder the high living costs of people, he said.
The current power tariff, effective until the end of April, is 4.15 baht oper kilowatt/hour (unit).
However, Mr Pichai said details of the issue have yet to be considered so he could not comment further.
As for the question of whether tax measures will be used to reduce electricity costs, that still cannot be answered, he said.
He said that reducing electricity prices does not necessarily require financial support from the government alone.
There is also speculation the Ministry of Finance will reduce petroleum tax to lower gas prices in the Gulf of Thailand, which is used as energy for electricity generation, but Mr Pichai said the ministry has yet to look at the details of such a tax measure.
"I can only confirm the government has a policy to take care of the people as we have a goal to reduce the electricity price to less than 4 baht," he said.
Following Thaksin's suggestion about the lower electricity price, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Tuesday that lowering the price to 3.70 baht is possible, adding it is a government priority.