Bangkok: 'Pipat' explains that collecting electricity charges through a hidden FT (Fuel Adjustment Charge) from citizens' homes has been done for 10 years. Pipat clarified that the practice of secretly charging electricity fees (FT) to citizens' homes was not initiated by his government, stating it has been in place for 10 years. He pointed out that the Prime Minister himself ordered the swift implementation to reduce the burden on citizens. He noted that a solution must be found urgently because the Ministry of Transport cannot bear the burden alone, as it amounts to 10 billion baht annually.
According to Thai News Agency, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, addressed the issue of public lighting and highway streetlights in many areas across the country being hidden in people's electricity bills. He acknowledged this problem but stated that it is not currently occurring and thanked Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul for his efforts to find ways to reduce electricity costs for household users. He explained that investigations into various electricity authorities revealed that some of the costs stemmed from rural highway lighting for road safety, but that these costs were only recently discovered to be embedded in the FT (Fuel Adjustment Charge) for household electricity bills.
Mr. Pipat continued that the Prime Minister had instructed the Ministry of Energy to find solutions to the problem. Regarding the Ministry of Transport's previous statement that expired streetlights should be replaced with LED bulbs, which could reduce electricity costs by 40-50%, the Ministry stated that if this cost-saving measure is not feasible, they will have to discuss it with the Budget Bureau. The Ministry of Transport does not have the financial capacity to cover or pay for this expense, which amounts to over 10 billion baht annually - a considerable sum.
Mr. Pipat emphasized that this issue is not something that is happening now, but has been going on for many decades, and the Prime Minister has ordered a solution to reduce electricity costs for the public. We need to find someone to pay for it on our behalf, without including it in the FT (Fuel Adjustment Charge).
When asked about Energy Minister Ekanat Promphan's statement that budget requests could be made from the Budget Bureau, Pipat said that requesting a budget is one approach. However, requesting from the Budget Bureau would raise further questions about who owns the budget collected by the Budget Bureau and the Ministry of Finance, and where the money came from. Ultimately, we must find a way to take responsibility for ourselves, one method or another. We must let the Ministry of Energy find a solution.