Supachot Chaisat, a People’s Party MP, points out that many government projects are not as advertised and expresses concern that 200 billion baht from the loan decree could be diverted into corrupt practices.
On 25 Aug 2026 GMT+7, following a shadow cabinet meeting, Mr. Supachot Chaisat List MP of the People’s Party in his capacity as a special committee member overseeing the loan spending under the Royal Decree authorizing the Ministry of Finance to borrow funds to address energy crisis impacts and drive the nation’s energy transition in 2026 stated that projects not meeting expectations include the policy loan project to install solar panels for one million households, which Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Akniti Nitithanprapas had previously announced.
After a recent economic development committee meeting of the House of Representatives, where agencies such as the Electricity Distribution Authority were invited to clarify, both electricity authorities confirmed that the one million household figure is currently unattainable. Additionally, the reported subsidy of 50,000 baht per household remains uncertain and may be reduced to 30,000 baht. Regarding installment payments via electricity bills, the Finance Minister and the electricity authorities explained it cannot be done under current regulations because the electricity authority cannot directly pay banks.
Regarding the Ministry of Transport’s project budgeted at 4 billion baht to convert public vehicles to EVs, initially Deputy Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat aimed to convert 80,000 vehicles across seven types. However, Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn later said discussions with the Ministry of Finance are ongoing. Recently, the economic development committee was informed that the Land Transport Department now focuses only on taxis rather than all seven vehicle types.
Supachot added that, concerning the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives’ projects reported to have a budget of over 60 billion baht, such as the Royal Irrigation Department’s plan to develop water sources and improve water management to address the energy crisis and support the energy transition, they requested 20 billion baht. However, inquiries in the committee revealed no detailed plans beyond purchasing water pumps and installing solar panels. We worry that future procurement processes may involve corruption. Whether projects are misleading or lack substance, this is already occurring and could be a mechanism diverting the 200 billion baht loan funds into corrupt practices.