Reports that authorities have shifted the energy costs for public streetlights onto consumers are shocking.
Our household electricity bills have long been subject to irregularities and constant debate. Consumers already bear costs such as the Ft (fuel tariff) -- a financial burden arising from government procurement of excess power from producers.
Yet the fact that consumers may have already been paying for public streetlights is unacceptable.
What is even more alarming is that Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and various ministers on the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) appear unaware of this cost shifting.
The issue came to light this month when Energy Minister Akanat Promphan reviewed the electricity bill structure and found the energy costs of streetlights operated by some state agencies, such as the Highways Department, had been passed on to consumers through monthly electricity bills.
While consumers -- and the prime minister, and Mr Akanat -- have been kept in the dark, state enterprises such as the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) have long been aware of it.
PEA Governor Mongkol Treekijjanon has confirmed these costs have been embedded in electricity bills for more than a decade.
State bodies and provincial and local administrations already receive annual budgets and local tax revenue to cover these expenses. If they cannot, the MEA and PEA -- which are known for their efficiency and strictness in collecting debts from household consumers -- should instead recover overdue electricity charges from state agencies and government bodies, rather than passing the cost on to consumers.
These state enterprises did not shift the burden themselves. Energy policymakers and previous governments allowed it to happen without informing the public. This cost shifting is another example of the secrecy and inequality underlying how electricity tariffs and policies are formulated.
Most policy proposals, including electricity tariff structures, are designed by energy technocrats at the Ministry of Energy, with limited consumer engagement.
Let us examine how energy policy is made.
Energy policies are proposed by the Energy Ministry and decided by the NEPC -- a committee chaired by the prime minister and various ministers.
However, energy regulations, concessions, and even electricity pricing decisions are overseen by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Energy Ministry. Most ERC members are selected through a process that, in practice, draws heavily from Energy Ministry officials or senior figures in the energy sector and state enterprises. There is no truly independent regulatory body overseeing the country's energy sector.
It is good news that Mr Anutin has ordered an investigation into this cost shifting. First and foremost, the government must end the practice. The probe should not stop there -- it must also determine how these decisions were made and how much consumers have paid. Above all, the government must establish how compensation will be provided.
At the policy level, the latest streetlight scandal should serve as a wake-up call for reform of the ERC, making it more transparent and subject to public scrutiny.
