Thailand in Focus

On October 1, 2009, 11.30am, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva presided over the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Energy-organised event "Energy...Rescuing the Thai Crisis" and gave a speech titled "Thai Energy ... Thai Strength," at the Royal Paragon Hall, 5th floor, Paragon Shopping Complex. The event, was held until October 4, 2009, was also attended by executives from both public and private sectors, energy operators, representatives from the government and state enterprises, and the general public.

Minister of Energy Wannarat Channukul, in his brief introduction of the event and its objective, said that the event is held in honour of His Majesty the King who, as "the father of Thai energy development" is visionary and knowledgeable in alternative energy development. His Majesty has contributed to the alternative energy industry by inventing several formulas of bio-fuel and raising the awareness of the Thai people in energy security which, as a result, has urged Thais to develop alternative energy for sustainable self-sufficiency and to seriously conserve the energy for the survival of the nation.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation and delivered a speech in which he said that the government has volunteered to work in time of crises, and it sees that both political and economic crises are just temporary. The government thinks that eventually the problems will be solved and that the economy will return to growth. The oil prices will return to become traditional factors in determining the economic growth capability. The government has been working hard for 9 months, and there are signs that signal that the economy has passed its rock-bottom and is recovering. It can be seen that whenever the oil prices rise, investors and businesses are worried.

The Ministry of Energy and the government is persistent in having a long-term vision and knew that the oil prices during the global economic downturn are not sustainable. As the period of lower oil prices that have direct impacts on the prices of agricultural products and economic viability of alternative energy was temporary, the government, especially the Ministry of Energy, has, from the beginning, set the direction of its policies to accommodate alternative energy as primary industry that is new and facilitates the country's economic growth. In addition, the government has prepared to accommodate carbon credit trading and to become the ASEAN leader in energy-related CDM project development. Therefore, government policies, which have been well implemented by the Ministry of Energy, include 5 strategies that cover energy security, national master plan on alternative energy development, energy conservation lifestyle promotion, fair energy price regulation, and energy and environment development.

The Prime Minister also said that under the "Thailand: Investing from Strength to Strength," which is both a stimulus package and a medium-to-long term investment programme on infrastructure, investments in energy sector are quite numerous. The Electricity Generating Agency of Thailand (EGAT) and Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) will spearhead these investments with EGAT responsible for projects worth 40 billion Baht while PTT responsible for projects worth 140 billion Baht. Most of these investments are electricity-related, but the government is working on policy-making and management link-up so that economic growth in the future will be more environmentally friendly. There is, hence, a clear focus on the so-called "green energy" or environmentally friendly energy, including alternative energy, energy efficient technology development, and raising local communities' awareness on this matter, especially in adjusting or restructuring agricultural production process, all of which are essentially to energy investment.

The government, furthermore, has policy to promote bio-fuel and other policies, such as promoting private investment in small power producer (SPP), supporting very small power producers (VSPP) by increasing the buying price of electricity. Therefore, alternative power producers will get higher price. The Board of Investment (BOI) also fully supports alternative energy investment by giving maximum incentives. Currently, the Ministry of Energy has received proposals from 1,362 private entities interested in investing in alternative energy, 1,276 of which are for very small power producer investment. These investments will generate billions of Baht per annum for the Thai economy.

Government Spokesman Bureau
Foreign Relations Division