The enhanced single buyer (ESB) model utilised for decades must be adjusted to allow a shift to renewable energy and facilitate power users who want to reduce carbon emissions, according to speakers at an energy seminar.
At a seminar hosted yesterday by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) analysts agreed Thailand should make changes to its power trade model to promote renewable energy development.
Not only are many large companies demanding more clean energy to run their businesses, but also a "prosumer" business concept, in which factories and households can both produce and consume electricity, will become more popular in the near future, said Atilak Atthapit, a consultant to the National Science and Technology Development Agency.
The agency is working for the Energy Policy and Planning Office to conduct a feasibility study on a new power trade model to support use of renewable energy.
Thailand has used the ESB model for more than 20 years. It allows the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to be the single buyer that sells electricity to the public.
This does not facilitate power trade among companies that want to use more renewable energy.
If power companies want to sell electricity produced by renewable resources, they are required to sell it to Egat and state power distribution agencies, which then distribute electricity through their grids to companies and households.
Power companies are only allowed to directly sell electricity to the industrial sector under private power purchase agreements, but only fossil fuel-based electricity is traded.
Mr Atilak said the "bonus tariffs" offered to power plant developers should also be revised to better manage the costs of power supply.
Bonus tariffs refers to adder tariffs and feed-in tariffs that are used as incentives to encourage investment in renewable energy.
The ERC estimates the bonus tariffs incur costs of around 60 billion baht a year, meaning households have to pay 0.3 baht per kilowatt-hour on their monthly electricity bill to support this incentive scheme.
The financial burden led to a proposal to reduce the period of power purchase agreements (PPAs) made between the government and renewable energy developers.
PPAs currently last between 20 and 25 years.
