What Is the Ft Charge? The Fuel Adjustment Charge — May–Aug 2026 Period

Current Ft at a Glance

Note: the Ft is before 7% VAT and is billed as THB-per-unit multiplied by the units you consume.

What Is Ft — and How It Differs from the Base Tariff

The price you pay per unit of electricity has two main parts: (1) the base tariff, which reflects long-run generation, transmission and distribution costs, and (2) the Ft (Fuel Adjustment Charge / variable energy charge), a short-run "adjuster" reflecting how fuel costs (mainly natural gas and LNG), power-purchase costs and exchange rates have moved away from the assumptions baked into the base tariff. So when fuel prices rise, the Ft tends to be positive and bills go up; when fuel prices fall, the Ft can shrink or even turn negative. "Ft" comes from the automatic tariff-adjustment formula (the fuel-adjustment charge at a given time).

Who Sets the Ft and How It's Calculated

The Ft is set by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC / กกพ.), Thailand's energy-sector regulator. The Electricity Generating Authority (EGAT), the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) then apply the ERC-announced Ft on the bills they issue. The ERC reviews and announces the Ft every four months (three periods a year), based on actual and forecast fuel costs, power purchased from independent producers and neighbouring countries, exchange rates, and any carried-over balance from prior periods. Before each announcement, the ERC typically opens a public consultation and proposes several options before finalising the figure that is actually billed.

Current Ft Value 2026 — How Many Baht per Unit?

The current Ft announced by the ERC for the May–Aug 2026 period is 0.1623 THB per unit (kWh). It applies equally to all customer types under both PEA and MEA, and is before 7% VAT. Combined with the base tariff, the average residential electricity price works out to roughly 3.95 THB/unit (before VAT) for this period — see the full 2026 residential electricity rate tiers with worked home-bill examples, or the big picture in the Thai household electricity guide. The next period's Ft may change when the ERC next reviews it — check the latest value and full rate tables on the Thailand electricity tariff page. TOU-meter users (or anyone weighing a switch) can compare a TOU bill against the normal meter — current-period Ft included — with the TOU comparator tool.

Next Period Sep–Dec 2026 — Announced: Frozen at 3.95 THB/unit

Announced — on 22 July 2026 Thailand's ERC resolved to freeze the Ft charge for September–December 2026 at 0.1623 THB/unit (16.23 satang/unit), unchanged from May–August 2026, keeping the average residential electricity price at 3.95 THB/unit (before 7% VAT) by absorbing costs with roughly 16,127 million THB of claw-back funds — for all customer types. The key figures from the resolution:

Why the Next Period May Rise (The True-Cost Gap)

The Ft actually collected for Sep–Dec 2026 is just 16.23 satang/unit, while the ERC puts this period's true fuel and power-purchase cost at 41.27 satang/unit. The 25.04-satang gap is closed with 16,127.17 million THB of Claw-back funds spent this period. If no such money remains to subsidise the next round, the Jan–Apr 2027 tariff — which the ERC is expected to open for public hearing around December 2026 — is more likely to reflect true cost. Factories should budget ahead and consider ways to cut the units they buy from the grid.

Ft History Tracker (2020–2026)

The chart and table below cover every Ft the ERC has announced from 2020 through the latest period (including the pre-announced one). Values are in satang/unit; negative = a credit against the base tariff. Updated each time the ERC announces a new period (~every 4 months).

Ft by Period

* Jan–Apr 2023 is the only split-rate period: residential 93.43 / other users incl. factories 154.92 satang/unit — the chart plots the residential rate.

Every Ft Period

Key Turning Points

• 2020–2021 — Ft stayed negative every period (bottoming at -15.32 satang/unit through 2021) as COVID-era oil and gas prices slumped; consumers received a credit against the base tariff.
• Sep–Dec 2022 — jumped to 93.43 satang/unit, the residential-series peak, as global LNG prices surged in the energy crisis.
• Jan–Apr 2023 — the only period ever with two Ft rates: residential 93.43 / other users incl. factories 154.92 satang/unit (the all-time business-side high).
• May–Aug 2023 — first announced at 98.27 satang/unit, then revised down by the ERC to 91.19 before the period began.
• Jan–Apr 2026 — fell to 9.72 satang/unit, the lowest since the energy crisis, before ticking up to 16.23 in the current period.
• 22 Jul 2026 — the ERC resolved to freeze the Sep–Dec 2026 Ft at 16.23 satang/unit, level with the current period, absorbing costs with ~16,127M THB of Claw-back funds.

How Ft Affects Your Factory Bill (Worked Example)

The Ft is billed as THB-per-unit multiplied by the units you consume, so the more electricity a factory uses, the larger the Ft impact in absolute terms. Example for a factory using 200,000 units/month:

The Ft Trend — Why It Moves Up and Down

The Ft has been high during periods of surging global energy prices (for example the 2022–2023 energy crisis, when imported gas and LNG prices spiked) and has eased as fuel costs cooled and carried-over balances from earlier periods were unwound. Because Thai electricity relies heavily on natural gas and LNG, the Ft is sensitive to global gas prices, the baht exchange rate, and international energy-supply events. We do not list per-period historical Ft figures on this page to avoid imprecise data — the actual figure for each period is per the ERC's own announcement.

Frequently Asked Questions