Hundreds of people gathered in front of CentralWorld shopping complex in the Rajprasong area yesterday evening to observe a ceremony by Governor Apirak Kosayodhin to kick off the capital’s campaign to save energy and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions b

Energy expenses for the average Thai household rose 16 per cent annually from 2004 to 2006, due mainly to the sharp rise in fuel prices, the National Statistics Office has said.

From 2002 to 2004, the rise was only 6.9 per cent per annum.

"The increase is astonishing. The survey shows that average monthly household expenses in 2006 reached Bt14,300 and energy costs of Bt1,434 accounted for 10 per cent," the office's secretary-general Thananuch Tritipphaya-butr said. In 2004, the average household paid Bt1,066 a month in energy costs, but the figure increased to Bt1,434 a month in 2006.

Of the Bt1,434, some Bt307 went on diesel fuel, compared to only Bt181 per household in 2004.

Petrol expenses moved up from Bt435 to Bt567, while electricity costs rose from Bt333 to Bt378.

Spending on cooking gas rose slightly from Bt56 to Bt64. The small increase in costs for cooking gas could be attributed to the government's decision to maintain a price subsidy.

Household expenses on natural gas for vehicles (NGV), gasohol and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) also rose from Bt1 to Bt30 in two years.

By region, household power consumption in Bangkok and three peripheral provinces - Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan - was Bt823 per month, or nearly four times greater than the figure in the Northeast, Bt222.

Monthly average energy costs in Greater Bangkok were Bt2,412 per household, followed by Bt1,577 in the Central region, Bt1,570 in the South, Bt1,112 in the North and Bt1,005 in the Northeast.

The survey also showed that household energy expenses rose in all regions. The highest increases were in the South (22 per cent) and the Northeast (20 per cent), while Central had the lowest at 11 per cent.