Energy Policy 2025: A New Direction for Thailand’s Power and Clean Energy Industry

Energy Policy for 2025: The government aims to promote clean energy while also securing new domestic energy sources. At the same time, the three electricity authorities—EGAT, MEA, and PEA—are preparing to invest in infrastructure to accommodate the growing share of renewable energy in the future.

IEEE PES Dinner Talk 2024, organized by the IEEE Power & Energy Society (Thailand), took place on the evening of November 28, 2024, at the Vibhavadee Ballroom, Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao, Bangkok. A key highlight of the event was the special keynote speech on “Policies and Directions for Thailand’s Energy Sector” by Dr. Prasert Sinsukprasert, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy. The event also featured a panel discussion on “The New Electric and Energy Systems: Reinvention and Resilience” with panelists including Mr. Thepparat Theppitak, Governor of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), Mr. Wilas Chaloeysat, Governor of Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), and Mr. Supachai Ek-un, Governor of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA). The event garnered significant interest from professionals in the electricity industry.

In summary, Dr. Prasert Sinsukprasert, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, outlined Thailand’s key energy policies for 2025. He emphasized the importance of increasing the share of clean energy. Currently, about 60% of the country’s electricity production comes from natural gas, while clean energy accounts for around 26%. Under the new draft Power Development Plan (PDP2024), by 2035, the share of natural gas will decrease to 41%, while the share of clean energy will rise to 51%. This direction aligns with global trends focusing on climate change, where countries are setting clear targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This issue is expected to become a key factor in future trade and investment conditions.

Promoting Clean Energy to Enhance the Country’s Competitiveness

Thailand’s energy policy aims to promote clean energy as a means to enhance the country’s competitiveness and attract foreign investment. The government is preparing to become a Digital Hub for ASEAN, with many investors showing interest in projects such as Data Centers and Cloud Services. This is evident from the 46 investment promotion applications submitted to the Board of Investment (BOI), totaling over 167.99 billion baht. The country is also preparing for over 2,000 megawatts of Direct Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) and a Utility Green Tariff policy. What investors seek is 100% clean energy, or RE100, and energy of high quality. This presents a challenge for the three electricity authorities—EGAT, MEA, and PEA—to ensure that the electricity provided is stable, high-quality, and available without outages, while being supplied at all times. Meanwhile, electricity costs are considered a secondary concern for investors.

Promoting the Development of New Domestic Energy Sources

In addition, Thailand’s energy policy for 2025 includes efforts to secure new domestic energy sources. This will involve opening up exploration and production rights for onshore petroleum fields in the 25th round, expected to yield approximately 5.76 million barrels of crude oil and 20.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The investment required for exploration and development is projected to be no less than $73.75 million. Furthermore, there will be a 26th round of exploration and production rights for offshore petroleum fields in the Andaman Sea, with many companies expressing interest due to the potential for discovering petroleum reserves. There is also ongoing interest in the overlapping maritime area between Thailand and Cambodia, known as OCA, which is believed to have the potential for petroleum deposits, as it is close to the Erawan field, which currently produces about 800 million cubic feet of petroleum per day. If the government can reach an agreement through negotiations, this could lead to the development of the area and the use of its petroleum resources, reducing Thailand’s dependency on imported energy, which currently accounts for more than 75% of its energy needs. This would help strengthen energy security and lower electricity costs. Dr. Prasert expressed confidence that negotiations over the Thailand-Cambodia OCA issue would not affect Thailand’s territorial integrity, particularly the area around Koh Kood.

“Thailand’s reliance on 75% imported energy means that global oil and LNG market prices, influenced by geopolitical issues, directly impact domestic prices. Therefore, increasing domestic energy sources will help reduce imports and lower electricity costs,” Dr. Prasert said.

Thailand’s energy policy for 2025 also supports the development of new energy technologies to facilitate the energy transition. This includes preparing the infrastructure and regulations needed for hydrogen energy use, increasing the capacity to supply raw materials for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production by 2026, and utilizing petroleum fields as carbon capture and storage (CCS) sites. Thailand is collaborating with Japan to study petroleum sources in the Arthit field, Gulf of Thailand, while onshore, sites such as Mae Moh and Nam Phong are also under consideration.

Thailand’s energy policy continues to adhere to three core principles: a secure electricity system (Security), fair pricing (Economy), and sustainability (Sustainable).

Shifting from Fossil-Based to Green-Based Energy: A Major Challenge for EGAT

Mr. Thepparat Theppitak, Governor of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), discussed the future challenge of managing renewable energy sources, which are expected to account for more than 50% of the power grid. He emphasized the challenge of maintaining energy security during this transition from fossil-based to green-based energy. This shift presents a significant challenge for EGAT, as both solar and wind energy can only generate electricity during periods of sunlight and wind, unlike fossil fuels, which can generate electricity and supply power 24 hours a day, every day.

In the past, EGAT managed energy security by balancing demand and supply continuously. Today, with solar and wind power being intermittent, the challenge is knowing when to expect their availability. To address this, EGAT plans to implement technologies that will provide flexibility in managing energy, such as Virtual Power Plants (VPP), RE Forecast Centers, and Grid Modernization. Additionally, EGAT’s power plants must be flexible enough to reduce production when solar and wind power feed into the grid and then ramp up generation during periods without sunlight or wind. However, there are limitations to reducing the output of the main power plants. During periods of excess power generation, EGAT is exploring other ways to utilize this surplus, such as storing it in battery systems, using it in pumped storage power plants, or even, in the future, producing hydrogen. Additionally, there is an increasing need for alternative power plants, such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR) or small-scale nuclear plants, which are gaining global attention as potential solutions to enhance grid stability.

MEA Upgrades Its System to Support Future Urban Electricity Usage

Mr. Wilas Chaloeysat, Governor of Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), stated that MEA is committed to becoming the electricity provider for the modern urban era, focusing on both power stability and system flexibility to accommodate all electricity consumption behaviors. MEA’s long-term strategy looks 20 years ahead, envisioning Bangkok as a Smart City with Smart Mobility, Smart Government, and a Smart Economy. The city will experience economic growth, an increase in high-energy-demanding Data Centers, the establishment of regional headquarters, a shift toward electric-powered transportation, and evolving lifestyle and tourism trends. Additionally, urban aesthetics and visual appeal will become increasingly important. MEA is taking all these factors into account when designing and planning its vision to ensure it can meet future energy demands.

MEA places consumer needs at the core of its strategy, which has led to the transformation of the conventional grid into a Smart Metro Grid, featuring an underground power distribution system. The organization is installing smart equipment to enhance safety and reliability. MEA has set a target to implement 300 kilometers of underground power lines by 2029, though Bangkok still requires over 1,000 kilometers of underground cable installation. MEA is working diligently to achieve as much progress as possible in this transition.

PEA Understands the Distribution System from Start to Finish and Takes Immediate Action

Mr. Supachai Ek-un, Governor of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), stated that clean energy related to PEA will be small-scale and is expected to increase steadily. In the future, the distribution system of PEA must have a comprehensive understanding from the beginning to the end of the system. This includes adapting equipment and systems to accommodate new technologies across all 12 regions served by PEA, aiming to create Smart Transformers. PEA must be able to accommodate changes in electricity consumption behavior, such as the unpredictable nature of EV charging and the instability of solar power, as well as shifting peak electricity demand. PEA needs to foresee and predict all these changes to ensure effective control.

He also mentioned that in the future, investors seeking clean energy, such as data centers, whether requiring 100 MW or 1,000 MW, will need PEA to provide a one-stop service, ensuring everything is coordinated within PEA’s distribution system. Recently, PEA introduced a distribution service charge of just 0.059 baht per unit, which is designed to attract investment.

“PEA knows its role and takes immediate action, not just including it in the strategy. In the past, we have placed emphasis on our people. We have sent employees to various training programs so they can handle the technological changes that will arise in the future,” said Mr. Supachai.