Representatives of the European Commission confirmed that they will consider the proposal of the interim cabinet of ministers to allocate 10.46 billion baht to subsidize electricity costs for household consumers. This was stated by Commission Chairman Ittiporn Boonprakong in response to a statement by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngama, who noted that the government is still waiting for the Commission's decision on the matter.
As noted earlier, in late April, the Thai cabinet asked the European Commission to allow 11.112 billion baht from the central budget to subsidize electricity costs for households. However, the commission rejected this proposal because the cabinet secretariat did not indicate the resolution in which this subsidy was approved. Therefore, the document was considered incomplete.
In early May, the cabinet revisited the issue and decided to reduce the cost of electricity subsidies for household consumers to 10.464 billion baht. By law, the interim cabinet is required to obtain approval from the Electoral Commission for additional spending from the budget in order to prevent possible accusations of indirect bribery.
Despite this, some experts express concerns that electricity subsidies could become a form of electoral bribing as Thailand's elections are scheduled for the end of the year. In addition, they believe that subsidizing electricity costs is not the best way to deal with the country's economic problems.
