Today (February 25, 2023) Mr. Sontirat Sontijirawong, former Minister of Energy A private Facebook post commented on the oil price cut, stating that he was pleased to hear opinions from many people. who came out to talk about oil prices today Although the Palang Pracharat Party There has not yet been a consensus on the official energy policy. But it’s a good thing everyone is talking about it. Which is useful to the people, regardless of opinions from the Prime Minister, Khun Mingkwan, Khun Rasana, Khun Pichai, etc.
and as a former energy minister He had his personal opinions on the energy price structure as follows:
Overall, he agreed with the reduction of energy prices because it directly benefits the people. But he had four or five different opinions in handling this matter.
1. He disagreed with solving a problem that was an ad hoc solution in just one year. without going to solve the heart of the problem That was the original price structure problem. which has not yet been corrected to be fair and in line with the energy situation which is truly beneficial
2. Solving with “Cancel the oil fund” as has happened in the past has already failed and if the oil fund was canceled immediately The impact on the people in terms of cooking gas prices will increase immediately. The price has increased to more than 135 baht per bucket / 15 kg, which people will certainly suffer. If there are no other measures to support
In addition, we also have a debt fund of hundreds of millions of baht, including interest, who pays and how it will be managed.
Including gasohol, the price will also increase until no one may fill it. and how to manage it with farmers who grow energy crops to produce ethanol, etc. Therefore, this issue needs to be systematically thought out and thoughtful.
because if not solved systematically “Cancellation of the oil fund” can be done temporarily (either 3 months or 1 year) and eventually will have to return to collect the oil fund in the end. Just like it used to come up in the government in the past. and the people had to come back to suffer anyway
3. Solving with “Cancel excise tax collection” will affect revenue from government collection. and fiscal position Therefore, it must be systematically explained how to compensate for the amount of revenue missing from the predetermined annual budget. how to fix Even if the problem can be solved for only 1 year, it means that the people will eventually have to return to collect excise taxes anyway.
4. The fact that Prime Minister Prayuth has ordered a reduction in oil prices, I think, is a good solution if possible. But one must be careful to make amendments by subjecting the state to the burden unilaterally (such as reducing taxes or reducing contributions to the fund) without adjusting. “Reasonable Pricing Structure”
and a “reasonable price structure” must take into account the reduction in oil prices. It doesn’t just affect oil prices, but it’s also related to “Political will”, especially the political leaders, the prime minister must agree with. because it is related to many ministries, including the Ministry of Energy Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce, etc.
5. For the appropriate oil price specific structure He proposed split into two parts.
The first part of the government sector in reducing taxes or reducing collections to the fund should find a balance that, if reduced, must not affect the country’s fiscal status. and have to pay off the oil fund’s debts
The second part in the private sector Unreasonable profits derived from distorted and unfair pricing structures should be reduced.
Mr. Sontirat further stated that, however, the problem of oil and the oil fund affected LPG as mentioned. It also hides the problem of high electricity prices and pushes the burden on the people as well. which he will mention later on in the future Because there are still many issues in this matter that need to be discussed.
However, he would like to invite everyone to listen to the discussion stage. Thai Energy Future on February 28 at Thammasat Small Auditorium, Tha Prachan, half past noon onwards. It will be a forum for political parties to discuss energy policy. which is considered very important
“Finally, I would like to reiterate that Energy is for the people. The government and the private sector must think of the people.
We should take the opportunity to pay attention to oil prices. This is the starting point for resolving energy structure problems for fair and sustainable results,” said Mr. Sontirat.
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