Govt sets aside 500mn THB in support of energy service projects

BANGKOK, 15 December 2009 (NNT) – The Ministry of Energy joins hands with the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) in promoting energy service companies (ESCO) with a 500 million THB budget to support energy-saving businesses.

Minister of Energy, Wannarat Channukul, said in his speech at the inauguration of Thailand ESCO Fair 2009, that the ministry recognizes the importance of energy which is one of the country’s economy-driving factors. The government is steadily seeking new energy sources in order to satisfy the growing demand. The government will also ensure fair energy prices and efficiency in order to reduce the need for imported fuels, of which the price continues to climb.

The Energy Ministry has teamed up with the the FTI in supporting ESCO entrepreneurs who are ready for energy conservation measures which will, in return, lower their production cost and lead to industrial development. It is hoped that the support would inspire the private sector to invest at least 5 billion THB in energy conservation projects each year. Currently, energy conservation efforts have helped reduce over 3.5 billion baht per year in investment capital.

In 2011, the ministry has targeted a figure of over 200 billion THB to be saved by the energy conservation projects. At present, the amount of invested loans in the energy section is approximately 80 billion THB which saves more than 25 billion THB worth of energy each year.