High electricity bills push up Thailand's industrial production costs

According to Thailand's World Daily report on January 19, Minister of Industry Surya revealed that the trend of high energy prices has increased industrial production costs, accelerated inflation, and led to a decline in the competitiveness of Thai entrepreneurs. It is predicted that the energy price situation will have a long-term impact. The Ministry of Industry ordered the Office of Industrial Economics to conduct research on the impact on the industry. Ms. Wolawan, director of the Office of Industrial Economics, said that the Office of Industrial Economics uses the National Economic and Social Development Council Office of production factors and The data in the output table studied and analyzed the impact of electricity price increases on the industrial sector. The study found that an increase to 5.33 baht/unit would lead to an average increase of 4.88% in industrial production costs. The industrial production cost of the most affected iron and steel industry increased by 12.41%, the production cost of the cement industry increased by 9.47%, the production cost of the textile industry increased by 8.96% year-on-year, the production cost of the concrete product industry increased by 8.14% year-on-year, the production cost of the clothing industry increased by 7.98% year-on-year, ceramics Industry production costs increased by 6.49%. When considering industries affected by additional electricity prices, using monthly shipments index data (January to October) for the first 10 months of 2022, it was found that the iron and steel industry and the textile industry had a monthly shipment volume compared with other industries. The growth rate of the volume index is relatively low. Entrepreneurs in steel and textiles have a lot to adapt to than entrepreneurs in other industries. The way to reduce the impact of electricity bill increase is that entrepreneurs need to find energy sources to replace energy imports, including relying on clean energy and alternative energy sources, such as solar energy, water energy, wind energy, hydrogen energy, etc. It is necessary to use energy sparingly in the workplace, effectively manage space utilization in the workplace, and adapt storage by planning the use of space, such as using natural light, using LEDs, using sensor systems for automatic switching, installing ventilation fans, and creating a storage space in the office space, utilizing every valuable space.