The additional mechanisms for Third-Party Access in Energy Industry Act 2007 to facilitate competition and renewable energy usage

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to suggest measures to enhance the protection of TPA rights of non-grid power producers. That has been certified in Section 80 of the Energy Industry Act, BE 2550 (2007).  The study found that merely the TPA provisions are not adequate to promote competition in the electricity industry. In addition, the provisions might not support electricity generation from renewable energy as recognised internationally. Separation of ownership in the electricity network from EGAT is one of the measures that might be utilised to promote competition in the electricity industry. The study showed that such an approach could allow private individuals to bid for a license to grant the right to be a network operator under the supervision of the ERC, which will enable the state to benefit from the bidding capital for network management licenses. Simultaneously, the regime reduces the regulatory burden of ERC through a market mechanism that the licensee must manage the network in a cost-efficient manner to get the most profitable outcome. In addition, the network regulations are required to provides additional benefits if extra objectives could be achieved, such as encouraging generators from renewable energy and vice versa. Network administrators may be responsible for a penalty in such a situation. The regime aims to motivate network operators to achieve additional environmental objectives in the most cost-effective manner.