Dr. Warong points out that electricity and water are basic public utilities that the government must provide to citizens. He criticizes the government for exploiting people by pushing them to pay high electricity bills and install solar panels, while buying electricity back at less than half the price at which it is sold.
3 May 2026 GMT+7 Dr. Warong Dechkitvikrom, a party-list Member of Parliament and leader of the Thai Pakdee Party, commented on the case of the government launching measures to support citizens in installing solar panels to produce electricity on their rooftops, along with low-interest loan subsidies. He said that overall, if not overanalyzed, it seems like a good thing. But the government's plan to adjust electricity prices on a tiered basis—charging no more than 3 baht per unit for usage under 200 units/month, 3.95 baht per unit for 200–400 units/month, and 5 baht or more per unit for usage over 400 units/month—is a measure that exploits the people. Electricity is a basic public utility that the government is directly responsible for providing fairly to citizens without discrimination.
However, the new policy from the Ministry of Energy encouraging rooftop solar installation and buying electricity back from households at 2.20 baht per unit, while selling electricity to the public at 5 baht per unit, is an even greater exploitation. If the government promotes solar panel installation on rooftops with a transformer system using Net Metering—where electricity produced is used first, excess is sold to the state, and if insufficient, electricity is drawn from the state with netting off at equal rates—this would be a truly supportive and fair system without exploitation.
“But the government's measure to buy electricity from households with solar panels at 2.20 baht per unit while selling to the public at 5 baht per unit, especially for households using over 500 units/month, is exploitative and unfair. It shifts the investment burden to citizens who must pay out-of-pocket to build their own power plants at home, with only low-interest loans available, while the state buys electricity from rooftops at less than half the selling price. This is despite the government's duty to provide electricity at a low and fair price without discrimination. Electricity and water are basic public utilities the government must provide, not opportunities to seek excessive profits.”