Thailand sets sights new energy subsidy for small firms

BANGKOK, May 13 (TNA) - The management of the Energy Conservation Promotion Fund (ENCON Fund) has allocated over 500 million baht to enable small firms to reduce their energy costs. Energy Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal who chaired the meeting of the ENCON Fund subcommittee said the meeting resolved to allocate 581 million baht to the Energy Policy and Planning Office and the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency to convince SMEs nationwide to use energy-efficient light bulbs. The energy minister said that in another project, energy authorities would advise the owners of medium and large-scaled factories to improve the energy efficiency of their machines and instruments. The improvement will be either free or low-cost and is aimed at enabling operators to cut their energy costs quickly. Low-cost improvement ensures quick break even. Mr Pongsak said the ENCON Fund management expected at least 2,000 SMEs to join the campaign. Apart from helping SMEs to cope with economic impacts, both projects are in compliance with a 20-year energy conservation plan of the government. They should cut energy costs by 700 million baht per year, the minister said. (TNA)