Gap Analysis between the Regulatory of License and Permission for Renewable Energy Industry Operations: A Case Study of Thailand

Abstract

To sell electricity either from fossil fuel or renewable sources on the grid in Thailand, permission based on the regulations and regulatory guidance is required. Thailand plans to use renewable sources to produce electricity for 20,766 MW in the next 20 years. As a result, some of the existing regulations and related guidance documents are either not applicable or partially applicable, because it requires too many processes and takes too much time. This study reviewed existing regulations and regulatory guidance of license and permission for renewable energy industry operations in Thailand, and identified gaps that needed to be reconciled between existing regulatory requirements and regulatory guidance. The scope of the prescribed review included licensing procedure and requirements to obtain electricity generation, distribution, and transmission licenses. Other related regulatory guidance was also reviewed. The role of stakeholders, for example, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), independent power producers (IPPs), and small power producers (SPPs), were also analyzed. The results found that regulations by the ERC on renewable electricity licensing and trading mechanism were too bureaucratic, causing administrative hurdles. From stakeholders’ perspectives, the energy transition path in Thailand has been slow, due to lack of continuity and coordination in policies among government agencies, supportive measures and implementations, financial supports from the central authority or financial institutions; conflicts between local communities and authorities, inadequate facilities and infrastructure, and weak mindsets of energy users on energy conservation.