The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) (; ) is a state enterprise, managed by the Ministry of Energy, responsible for electric power generation and transmission as well as bulk electric energy sales in Thailand. EGAT, established on 1 May 1969, is the largest power producer in Thailand, owning and operating power plants at 45 sites across the country with a total installed capacity of 15,548 MW.
EGAT's monopoly position in Thailand's electrical energy market has been challenged by critics as influential as a former energy minister and other government members are on the board. It has been criticised as inefficient and an impediment to the development of renewable energy sources.
Mission As stated in EGAT's Annual Report 2017: To generate, acquire, supply or sell electricity To conduct electricity-related businesses and other businesses related to EGAT's activities including production and sale of lignite according to the EGAT Act B.E. 2511 (1968) (Amended in B.E. 2535) (1992)
Operations
EGAT's power generation plants consist of three thermal power plants, six combined cycle power plants, 24 hydropower plants, eight renewable energy plants, and four diesel power plants. EGAT produced 37 percent of Thailand's electricity; independent power producers, 35 percent; small power producers, 19 percent; and electricity imports, 9 percent. Gas-fired generation powers 67 percent of EGAT's electricity generation while coal-fired power plants account for 20 percent. Most of EGAT's electricity is sold to the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), which supplies the Bangkok region, and the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), which supplies the rest of Thailand.
EGAT operates the Mae Moh coal (lignite) mine in Lampang Province and is required by its enabling legislation to sell lignite.
Observers have noted that in some Western countries, the state purchases renewable energy from producers first before purchasing non-renewable energy. If renewables fail to meet the country's energy demand, it is topped up using non-renewable energy sources. In Thailand, this policy is reversed.
EGAT's net profits have declined 3.5 to 4 percent per year for the last several years, in concert with its share of power generation dipping to 36 percent in 2017 from 55 percent over a decade ago. Independent power producers (IPP) ramped up production over the last four years, from a few hundred megawatts to nearly 3,000 MW at the end of 2017. As IPP-supplied power purchases increase, EGAT's profits decline.
As of May 2016, EGAT employed 22,955 persons. To shore up declining profits, EGAT intends to reduce its staff to 15,000 by 2021, the first staff cuts in its 49-year history.
Financials EGAT reported revenues of 719,648 million baht in fiscal year 2024 (FY2024: 1 January–31 December 2024). Net income was 49,611 million baht and total assets grew to 1,357,645 million baht.
Fossil fuel consumption In the first half of 2016, Thailand imported 11.13 million tonnes of coal, up 3.5 percent from 10.76 million metric tonnes (mt) in the first half of 2015. Indonesia and Australia supplied 5.6 million tonnes of bituminous coal and 5.5 million tonnes of "other" coal. China and Russia supplied 47,395 tonnes of anthracite coal. Thailand produced 6.88 million mt of lignite from January–May 2016, rising 7.5 percent from the same period in 2015. EGAT accounts for "...most of the country's domestic lignite production, which is mainly supplied to its own power plants." Coal-fired power plants consumed 10.31 million mt of coal and lignite from January to May 2016, or 60.9 percent of the total, rising 11.4 percent year on year.
In 2017, Thailand imported 22.18 million mt of coal, up 2.5 percent from 2016. The nation produced 16.26 million mt of lignite in 2017, down 4.2 percent year on year. The country consumed a total of 39.07 million mt of coal and lignite, up 0.9 percent. Coal-fired power plants consumed 23.73 million mt of the total, down 4.2 percent from 2016. Other industries consumed the remainder.
While EGAT pushes forward with plans for coal-fired generating plants, many countries are spurning coal or deferring its use: China in 2016 announced the suspension of plans for 100 new coal plants, including plants under construction. India's Electricity Central Electricity Authority has said that after coal-fired power plants under construction are completed, the country will need no new ones until 2027.
Attempted privatisation Beginning in 2003, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra repeatedly attempted to privatise EGAT. One of the goals of the privatisation was to raise 42 billion baht from the IPO and use the funds to invest in three new natural-gas powered power plants.
In early 2004 massive employee protests of nearly 500,000 people forced the EGAT governor to resign, thus delaying the planned privatisation of the state enterprise. Governor Kraisri Karnasuta worked with employees to address their concerns about the privatisation, and by December 2004, it was claimed that approximately 80% of employees supported privatisation. Permanent protest stages and tents at the EGAT headquarters were taken down as the state enterprise returned to normal. After the Mahachon Party (one of the few parties officially against privatisation of state enterprises) won only two seats in the February 2005 parliamentary elections, the process of EGAT's privatisation was restarted. The agency was corporatized in June 2005, transforming it from the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to EGAT PLC. However, EGAT's privatisation was abruptly delayed when some NGOs and some union members filed a petition with the Supreme Court a few days before the scheduled listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
On 23 March 2006, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled against the privatisation of EGAT PLC, citing conflicts of interest, public hearing irregularities, and the continued right of expropriation. The court said that Olarn Chaipravat, a board member of PTT and Shin Corporation (both business partners of EGAT), was on a committee involved in the legal preparation of Egat's privatisation. The court questioned the neutrality of Parinya Nutalai, chair of the public hearing panel on the EGAT listing, because he was Vice Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment.
It also ruled that insufficient opportunities were given to EGAT employees to make themselves heard. There was only one public hearing for employees, which only 1,057 attended. Lastly, EGAT PLC continued to have the right to expropriate public land to build power plants and transmission lines, a right reserved for the state. Two decrees were nullified: one ordering the dissolution of the status of EGAT as a state enterprise, and the other serving as a new charter for EGAT PLC.
Union leaders and anti-Thaksin protesters cheered the ruling, and called for the denationalisation of other privatised state enterprises, such as PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) and Thai Airways International (both privatized in 1992), PTT PCL, TOT PCL, MCOT PCL, Thailand Post Co Ltd, and CAT Telecom PCL. Like EGAT, PTT also retained land expropriation rights after it was privatised. However, this was one of the grounds for the nullification of the EGAT privatisation. Caretaker Finance Minister Thanong Bidaya has noted that the delisting and denationalisation of PTT could force the government to borrow massively from foreign institutions.
Some criticised that the listing of PTT on the SET on the grounds that it represented a massive transfer of public assets for the benefit of few people. Though the government initially accepted over 100,000 first-time investors, there were reports that the majority of the shares for sale to retail investors had been reserved for politicians, the banks' preferred clients, and journalists, leaving many retail investors, who stood in long lines to wait, to return home empty-handed. A nephew of Suriya Juengrungruangkit, the minister of Industry overseeing PTT and TRT Party secretary general, for example, was reported to have acquired 22 times the maximum number of PTT shares distributed to retail investors.Thailand's Electricity Reforms: Privatisation of Benefits and Socialization of Costs and Risks
Fears of this being repeated were often cited as the reason why EGAT's privatisation was delayed indefinitely. Another key argument for delaying privatisation was that privatisation preceded the establishment of an independent energy regulatory authority. In international experience, there are no examples of successful monopoly utility privatisation without regulatory oversight. Under pressure, Thaksin's government formed an interim electricity regulatory body, but some charged that it lacked authority to force compliance, levy fines, or punish defaulters. EGAT employee concerns about employment security were also common. Some expressed concern that partial ownership of Thailand's largest electricity producer by foreign shareholders would impact national security and cause conflicts of interest.
Anti-privatisation petitioners (including the Confederation of Consumer Organisations, People Living with HIV/Aids, Alternative Energy Project for Sustainability, Free Trade Area Watch, and the Four Region Slum Network) were harshly criticised by both Thai and international investors, who accused them of using corrupt tactics in delaying the listing. They also pointed to the public mandate of the 2005 election, during which the only anti-privatisation party suffered a near complete loss. International power sector governance experts from Harvard University, University of Delaware, and the World Resources Institute lauded the successful repeal of EGAT privatisation as an important step towards increased accountability and transparency in the Thai energy industry.
Thailand Power Development Plan 2015-2036 (PDP2025) Guiding EGAT's efforts is Thailand's Power Development Plan (PDP). The plan, prepared by the Ministry of Energy (MOE) and EGAT, is issued iteratively. The previous edition, PDP2010 Revision 3, covered the years 2012-2030.
Along with the PDP, the MOE produces several subsidiary plans that roll up into the PDP: Energy Efficiency Development Plan (EEDP) Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) Natural Gas Supply Plan Petroleum Management Plan
PDP2015 begins with the assumptions that: Thailand's average GDP growth over the period 2014-2036 will be 3.94 percent annually Thailand's population growth over the same period will average 0.03 percent annually Energy savings over the period as forecasted in the EEDP will total 89,672 GWh Renewables, including domestic hydro, will supply 19,634.4 MW of power over the period Thailand's new power demands will grow 2.67 percent annually, 2014-2036 In 2036 Thailand's peak electricity demand will be 49,655 MW and that total electricity demand will be 326,119 GWh
PDP2015 projects the following changes in Thailand electrical power generation fuel mix over the period 2014-2036: Imported hydro-power: Rising from 7 percent in 2014 to 15-20 percent in 2036 Coal/lignite: Flat to rising from 20 percent to 20-25 percent. EGAT appears to be insistent on building coal-fired plants regardless of the changing economics of power generation. Renewables, including domestic hydro: Rising from 8 percent to 15-20 percent Natural gas: Declining from 64 percent to 30-40 percent Nuclear: Rising from 0 percent to 0-5 percent Diesel/fuel oil: Declining from 1 percent to zero
PDP2015 projects that Thailand's CO2 emissions from power generation will rise from 86,998,000 tons in 2015 to 104,075,000 tons in 2036.
Thailand's newest power development plan, PDP2018, is expected to be issued in September 2018.
Demand Side Management (DSM) program