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.