Bangkok, Private power plants recommend that the government reconsider increasing the purchase rate of electricity from very small biomass power plants (VSPPs). Villagers ask the government to help workers and extend the life of biomass power plants. Mrs. Parichat Sanpamongkolchai, Managing Director of Kamalasai Bio Power 2010 Co., Ltd., wrote a letter to Mr. Phiraphan Salirathavibhaga, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy after in 2013, the Energy Regulatory Commission had a policy to promote the operation of new power plants in the form of small power plants, Small Power Plants (SPP) and very small power plants (VSPP). The government signed a contract and allowed the sale of electricity using the same type of biomass fuel in areas close to the original power plants. When the demand for biomass fuel increased, the fuel price increased, such as rice husks from 500 baht/ton to 2,000 baht/ton, firewood from 500 baht/ton to 800 baht/ton, palm bunches from 150 baht/ton to 300-350 baht/ton at present, in cluding production costs, construction costs of power plants, machinery in the power generation system, labor costs, and loans from financial institutions, causing the trees to grow twice as much to be used for electricity generation until having to request to stop the operation later. Then, on June 25, 2024, the National Energy Policy Committee (NEPC) meeting approved the proposal for purchasing electricity in the case of renewing the contract for the biomass power plant project that changed from Adder to Feed-in Tariff (FIT) at a price of 2.28 baht per unit, which is a very low electricity purchase price that does not reflect the actual production cost. Power plant operators cannot produce and sell electricity under the purchase price at this price. The company believes that when the ERC announces its approval of the biomass power generation project during the transition from Adder to Feed-in Tariff (FIT), the government should consider renewing the contract because the power plant still has a lifespan of 20 years as designed and studied for feasibility. Very Small Biomass Power Plant (VSPP) would like to object to the resolution of the EGAT meeting (June 25, 2024) regarding the purchase of electricity in the case of the contract extension of the biomass power plant project that has changed its form from Adder to Feed-in Tariff (FIT) at a price of 2.28 baht per unit as follows: 1. The electricity price of 2.28 baht per unit is the electricity purchase rate, making it impossible for the operator to continue the business because the average fuel cost for producing 1 unit of electricity is higher than 2.28 baht. 2. The determination of the electricity purchase price at a fixed rate does not vary according to the cost of each type of biomass fuel in each season. Therefore, it is an inappropriate price. 3. Each power plant still has the potential to produce and sell electricity to the Provincial Electricity Authority because the plant still has some life left. If they have to continue operating with the condition that they can sell electricity at only 2.28 baht per unit, the operators will suffer losses and immediately close their businesses. 4. In the case that the original biomass fuel power plants have to cease operations, it will be a huge economic loss. If they promote new operators, they will have to invest an additional 700 million baht/plant and will have to use construction and system testing. Kamalasai Bio Power 2010 Co., Ltd. (the Company) is a very small biomass power plant operator VSPP with a production capacity of 9.9 megawatts, selling electricity to the Provincial Electricity Authority with a capacity of 8.00 megawatts. It has been promoted for entrepreneurs to invest in building power plants since 2007, selling electricity in the form of Adder. The operation of the biomass power plant uses biomass fuel which is agricultural waste in the area near the power plant, such as rice husks from rice mills, wood chips from sawmills, empty palm bunches from palm oil mills, bagasse from sugarcane mills, to be burned to produce very small biomass electricity (VSPP). Source: Thai News Agency