BANGKOK, Jan 12 (TNA) – The Committee on Energy Policy Administration (CEPA) resolved to freeze the price of cooking gas at 318 baht per 15-kilogram cylinder until March 31, extended from the end of this month.
Kulit Sombatsiri, permanent secretary for energy, said CEPA told its secretariat to ask the Board of the Oil Fuel Fund to manage the fund in accordance with the latest policy on the cooking gas price.
CEPA has frozen the cooking gas price for nearly two years to help people affected by COVID-19. It has spent 23.56 billion baht on subsidizing the price.
Meanwhile, the Oil Fuel Fund Office must cap the diesel price at 30 baht per liter and on Jan 9 the fund made a loss of 7.33 billion baht. The office planned to borrow 20 billion baht to maintain its liquidity.
Earlier it asked CEPA to raise the cooking gas price by 1 baht per kilogram quarterly for three quarters for a total increase of three baht per kilogram to contribute to the Oil Fuel Fund but CEPA resolved to continuously subsidize the gas price. (TNA)
