Thailand Power SWOT

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Thailand Power SWOT

• 02 Jun 2022
• Thailand
• Power

SWOT Analysis

Strengths	The government offers subsidies for renewable energy in the form of a feed-in tariff programme, applicable to biomass, waste, wind and solar power technologies. Transmission losses are significantly lower than in other markets in the region, which is beneficial for renewable electricity generation. Thailand’s wider infrastructure sector is benefitting from heavy investment from other Association of Southeast Asian Nations markets as well as Japan and Mainland China.
Weaknesses	Substantial investment is required to fund the increase in additional capacity and infrastructure required for the government's power development plan. Thailand's political scene remains volatile, given the entrenched political divide between the rural poor and the urban middle class.
Opportunities	Thailand is looking to reduce its dependency on expensive gas imports and diversify its electricity mix, primarily through the expansion of renewable technology. While the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand still dominates the power market, the government has introduced some attempts at privatisation, with various schemes for smaller private power producers, and support for them to connect directly to the national grid. Thailand’s Board of Investment offers tax incentives of corporate tax exemptions (up to 8 years), exemption of import duties, and non-tax incentives of land ownership, expatriate and remittance permits for corporations that invest in Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model. The Thai government is looking to increase electricity imports from Laos over the coming years, which indicates that the domestic power production is still lacking, spelling opportunities for new plants.
Threats	Hydropower and coal facilities are facing growing environmental and social opposition domestically and regionally, hindering project development. Weak external demand risks are weighing on household consumption and resulting in softer growth in business investment. This is likely to negatively impact electricity consumption in the country. The potential for the government to lose its majority remains elevated and policymaking could stall under rising disunity within the coalition. Natural gas imports from Myanmar have been decreasing due to the coup situation, exposing gas power plant operators to more expensive natural gas imports from the international market and threatening the profitability of operations.

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