The price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for households will definitely start to rise by 0.50 baht per kilogramme per month in September, Energy Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal affirmed on Saturday.
Speaking on the "Yingluck Government Meets the People" weekly programme on NBT, Mr Pongsak said prices had to start going up after years of subsidies that have cost the state Oil Fund 140 billion baht.
The government proposes to increase the price of LPG used for cooking by 37% to 24.82 baht by August 2014 from 18.13 baht now.
If LPG prices continued to be subsidised, Mr Pongsak said, it would be a heavy burden for the Oil Fund and would be unfair to motorists using petrol. The Oil Fund receives its money from levies on other fuels.
LPG for transport is still artificially cheap at 21.38 baht, while the price for industrial users is 28.07 baht per kilogramme.
The price of LPG for transport will rise incrementally by 50 satang a month starting next February until the price reaches 24.82 baht.
Low prices in Thailand have led to LPG being smuggled to sell in neighbouring countries where the gas is more expensive, the minister said.
He also offered reassurances that about 15 million low-income people and street-food vendors would not be affected by the impact of LPG price increases as the government would allow them to buy cooking gas at the old price.
Low-income homes will be eligible to pay the capped LPG price to a maximum volume of 18 kg per quarter, while street vendors will be limited to 150 kg per month.
The ministries of energy and commerce would also discuss measures to prevent retailers from using the LPG price rise as an excuse to unfairly increase prices of consumer goods, he added.