Thailand cuts fuel and electricity prices amid Middle East supply crunch

THAILAND: Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced late Monday that the government will restructure fuel and electricity prices to lower costs for the public, while warning that supplies may remain expensive and occasionally tight as the Middle East conflict continues to disrupt global energy markets.

Anutin made the statement following the first cabinet meeting of his newly appointed government, which had earlier attended a swearing-in ceremony before Their Majesties the King and Queen.

"The government will adjust fuel and electricity price structures to bring costs down, and there will be other measures to help the people," Anutin said.

He acknowledged the limits of what restructuring alone could achieve. "Fuel and related products may remain expensive and insufficient. The government will try its best to cushion the impact," he said.

Relief measures to follow

Beyond pricing adjustments, Anutin said the government intends to roll out a co-payment scheme, discounted consumer goods, and soft loans targeting farmers, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the industrial sector.

He also pledged to reduce government spending to support the public through the crisis, without specifying the scale or timeline of those cuts.

Middle East conflict identified as root cause

Anutin attributed the crisis directly to the ongoing war in the Middle East, saying it had damaged petroleum and chemical production facilities across the region. Repairs, he noted, could take considerable time even after hostilities ended.

Thailand normally sources approximately half of its oil imports from the Middle East. The conflict has driven up prices not only for energy but also for fertiliser and plastic pellets, with Anutin describing the effects as global in scale.

"The shortfall in fuel and gas supplies in the Middle East has made it more difficult to source them elsewhere," he said. "The government chooses to announce this fact so that the people will understand and are ready to adjust and cope with the situation."

Infrastructure attacks raise supply risk

In a Facebook post published the same day, Anutin warned that the war had intensified, with attacks increasingly targeting oil refineries and energy infrastructure. Those involved in the conflict had indicated this trajectory, he said, raising the risk to global supply beyond mere price increases.

He cautioned that actually securing oil import contracts — not just managing price — could become difficult. While Thailand maintained relatively high oil reserves, the country's heavy reliance on imported crude left it structurally exposed. The current approach to energy management, he said, could not continue unchanged.

Work-from-home and energy saving urged

The cabinet has approved work-from-home arrangements for government agencies as part of a broader package of energy-saving measures. Anutin stressed that strict implementation was now required and called on the private sector to adopt similar arrangements voluntarily.

He urged the public to reduce use of private vehicles, increase use of public transport, consider carpooling, and step up electricity conservation efforts at home and in the workplace.

Anutin said the government would introduce additional measures as necessary, and expressed confidence that Thailand could navigate the crisis as it has done in past episodes of global economic turbulence — provided all sectors cooperated.

"We are facing a global crisis and we will get through it. I would like the people to cooperate," he said.