Thailand Weighs Gas Plant Contract Extensions as Data Center Power Requests Outpace Planning

A seven year supply gap puts existing plants back in focus

Thailand is considering extending contracts for existing gas power plants as electricity requests from data centers reach about 35,000 megawatts, against an allowance of roughly 8,800 megawatts in the draft Power Development Plan 2026. The immediate concern is timing: new large gas plants could take about seven years to deliver electricity because of equipment shortages and construction schedules.

Wattanapong Kurovat, director of the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO), described the private sector proposal following public consultation on the draft plan from September 8 to 15, 2026. The office is considering retaining large independent power producers, known as IPPs, whose contracts are approaching expiry. No blanket extension or final list of approved plants has been announced.

The proposal comes as the draft PDP 2026 seeks to increase clean and renewable energy while accommodating data centers and new industries, particularly in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). Decisions would depend on electricity demand, system security, plant efficiency and location, rather than simply whether an operator wants to continue selling power.

Warit Rattanachuen, deputy governor for strategy at the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), said securing turbines for a large plant could require a commitment of tens of billions of baht and a wait of about five years. Construction would then take almost another two years.

That equipment schedule explains why retaining existing generation is under discussion. It does not establish that every requested data center connection will become an operating facility, or that extending every expiring contract would be necessary.

Power requests are not the same as confirmed demand

The largest numbers describe applications or expressions of interest, not electricity already being consumed. Warit put combined requests to the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) at approximately 35,000 megawatts, describing that figure as close to current national peak demand.

A separate assessment gives PEA data center requests of 26,045.2 megawatts against a stated ability to accommodate 4,882.7 megawatts. On those figures, requests are about 5.3 times the stated capacity to serve them. That comparison concerns PEA alone and should not be treated as a measure of the entire national system.

Songwut Khandee, PEA assistant governor for planning and engineering, described expressions of interest in the EEC and surrounding areas reaching 38,000 to 40,000 megawatts. His account also referred to a much lower figure of 3,800 megawatts, without explaining how that smaller amount relates to the upper range.

The accounts also differ on the national peak used for comparison. Songwut cited approximately 50,000 megawatts, whereas Warit compared 35,000 megawatts with the national peak. Against the 50,000 figure, requests of 38,000 to 40,000 would equal 76% to 80%. The reporting does not reconcile the dates, definitions or geographic scope behind these figures.

Songwut described the upper request range as an optimistic case submitted by developers and cautioned that actual consumption still needed to be established. Projects may proceed in stages, operate below their requested capacity or never reach construction. Building for every application would therefore create a different risk from failing to serve confirmed investment.

What the 8,800 megawatt allowance includes

The draft national allowance for data centers is approximately 8,800 megawatts. Warit described its components as about 4,000 megawatts in the EEC, 2,600 megawatts outside the corridor for which utilities had accepted requests, and approximately 2,000 megawatts of additional planning headroom.

Those rounded components add to 8,600 megawatts, rather than 8,800. The 200 megawatt difference is not explained in the reported breakdown and should not be silently assigned to another category. The first two components total 6,600 megawatts, but utility acceptance alone does not guarantee electricity delivery. Allocation remains subject to the Data Center Business Policy Committee.

A separate account of the draft gives data center demand assumptions ranging from 6,799 to 8,811 megawatts. The upper figure is consistent with an approximately 8,800 megawatt allowance, although the reporting does not establish that every figure comes from the same scenario or version of the plan.

The roughly 35,000 megawatts of combined applications are almost four times the 8,800 megawatt planning allowance. This is a comparison between the development pipeline and the planning assumption, not proof of an immediate supply deficit. The decisive issue is how much requested demand becomes firm, where it connects and when it needs electricity.

Which existing plants could stay in service

One analysis identifies four gas plants or generating units for possible continued operation: Glow IPP at 713 megawatts, Ratchaburi at 2,041 megawatts, Wang Noi unit 3 at 446 megawatts and Nam Phong at 650 megawatts. Their listed capacities total 3,850 megawatts. This is a potential pool of existing capacity, not an approved extension package.

A separate account uses a broader Ratchaburi grouping of approximately 3,500 megawatts. It includes thermal units 1 and 2, totaling 1,400 megawatts, whose power purchase contracts have already ended, and combined cycle blocks 1 to 3, totaling roughly 2,100 megawatts, whose contracts are due to expire progressively in 2027.

The two Ratchaburi figures should not be treated as interchangeable. The 3,500 megawatt account includes additional units beyond the narrower 2,041 megawatt figure. Adding both would count overlapping capacity twice.

Glow IPP, associated with Global Power Synergy (GPSC), is expected to reach contract expiry around 2028. Glow SPP11, a separate 150 megawatt facility, has already completed its contract. A company account described alternative uses for its capacity and site, including electricity systems serving data centers, if an extension is not granted.

Burapha Power in Chachoengsao is another distinct case. The 540 megawatt project is scheduled to supply electricity in 2029 under an existing contractual arrangement. It should not automatically be included in the capacity proposed for contract renewal.

Company proposals extend beyond large gas plants

Nopadej Karnasuta, B.Grimm Power chief executive for Thailand, Malaysia and industrial business solutions, said approximately 22 plants with combined capacity of 3,000 megawatts had been proposed for consideration. That group includes IPPs and small power producers, or SPPs. The account does not establish that all 22 plants belong to B.Grimm or that they form a separate pool without overlap with other proposals.

Banpu chief operating officer Kirana Limpaphayom said the company would seek an extension for the 1,434 megawatt BLCP coal plant in Rayong if the new approach permits it. Its contract is due to expire in 2032. That proposal goes beyond the original focus on large gas plants and would require a separate decision.

An extension of around seven years has been discussed as a period that could justify spending on machinery and equipment changes. Preliminary expectations are that electricity prices under renewed arrangements could remain near existing levels. Neither the duration nor the price has been established through formal detailed negotiations.

The seven year renewal proposal and the seven year equipment and construction estimate describe different things. Their similar length helps explain the appeal of retaining operating plants while new capacity is developed, but it does not amount to an agreed replacement timetable.

The EEC needs both generation and delivery capacity

The draft plan includes about 4,200 megawatts of new generation in the EEC: approximately 1,400 megawatts around Bang Pakong in Chachoengsao and 2,800 megawatts in the Rayong zone. The projects would include both EGAT generation and capacity opened to large private producers.

These locations matter because electricity must reach the areas where demand grows. Keeping a plant elsewhere in Thailand does not automatically resolve a local network constraint in Chachoengsao, Chonburi or Rayong. This is why EPPO includes location alongside efficiency and system security in its proposed assessment.

EGAT is preparing an approximately 31 billion baht transmission investment to serve the EEC data center assumption of 4,000 megawatts. The proposal is undergoing consideration by the National Economic and Social Development Council and the Energy Regulatory Commission before submission to the cabinet, with a target start in 2027.

The transmission program has two phases. Its first phase involves more than 1 billion baht and is described as being under implementation and planning for initial demand. The distinction matters: some preparatory activity does not mean the full 31 billion baht program has received final approval.

Warit said individual data centers range from approximately 50 to 60 megawatts to 200 to 300 megawatts, with some projects reaching 800 to 1,000 megawatts. EGAT is modeling changes in their electricity use and equipment needed to keep the network stable. A proposal to serve data centers directly through EGAT transmission lines above 115 kilovolts would also require regulatory changes.

PEA wants developers to share investment risk

PEA described an existing EEC electricity infrastructure program worth more than 15 billion baht, approved by the cabinet in 2020. More than 80% of its budget has been invested. The developed system can accommodate approximately 16 initial data center projects and is approaching the limits of its existing capacity.

The utility is studying a further investment framework of about 5 billion baht for substations and network expansion, using the draft 8,800 megawatt national data center assumption as its planning base. It also plans 22 kilovolt supply for building construction and related industrial activity. Project submission depends on clearer rules for allocating electricity to data centers.

Songwut proposed developer participation through joint investment or guarantees of electricity use. His argument is that a financial commitment would make applications a more reliable guide to real demand and reduce the risk of unused infrastructure being paid for by other electricity customers.

He warned that investment based on unconfirmed applications could push costs into tariffs, mentioning possible levels of 4, 6 or 8 baht per unit. Those figures were warnings about investment risk, not announced tariff decisions or established forecasts.

PEA is also seeking funding for smarter electricity networks under a proposed 200 billion baht borrowing decree for the energy transition. Its priorities include better monitoring of network conditions, followed by storage, control systems and revised tariffs. That borrowing figure is a wider funding framework, not the budget of the proposed 5 billion baht EEC expansion.

Renewable growth does not remove the timing problem

The draft PDP 2026 covers 2026 to 2050. A reported higher demand scenario puts peak electricity requirements at 79,696 megawatts, with total generation capacity at the end of the plan ranging from 185,673 to 206,073 megawatts across scenarios. Installed capacity cannot be read as electricity available at every moment, especially where solar and other variable generation account for a large share.

The draft includes 9,100 megawatts of new gas generation and a new solar allocation of 24,300 megawatts, of which 14,300 megawatts would be for private producers. These are planning quantities. Procurement schedules, connections and completed projects will determine when that capacity becomes usable.

An illustration used in the extension discussion assumes average electricity demand of around 25,000 megawatts and daytime solar production of about 10,000 megawatts. Under that example, other generation supplies roughly 15,000 megawatts during daylight, but must cover more demand when solar output falls. It is an illustration of changing supply requirements, not a verified account of output at a particular moment.

Combined cycle gas plants use a gas turbine to produce electricity, then recover its exhaust heat to generate more power through a steam turbine. Retaining such plants could preserve controllable generation during the transition. Longer fossil fuel commitments, however, also expose the system to fuel costs and the risk that assets become less economical before their operating lives end.

Storage, stronger networks and management of electricity demand are therefore part of the same planning decision. EGAT and EEC authorities are also studying small modular nuclear reactors, with approximately 9,000 megawatts of potential capacity described in the draft. That figure is not an approved construction program or a solution with a stated delivery date.

Clean electricity contracts and tariffs remain unsettled

A reported average tariff estimate for the plan is 3.8364 baht per kilowatt hour. A kilowatt hour is the billing unit for electricity consumed. The estimate is a result of planning assumptions, not a promise that household bills or data center tariffs will remain at that level throughout the plan.

Actual charges will depend on gas and liquefied natural gas prices, network investment, financing, contracts and regulatory decisions. Whether data center growth increases costs for other customers also depends on who pays for new connections, reserved capacity and backup supply. An increase in household tariffs is not an automatic consequence of every new data center.

EGAT is studying arrangements covering ordinary grid electricity, the Utility Green Tariff (UGT), direct power purchase agreements (Direct PPA) and backup charges for businesses producing their own electricity. Direct PPA allows an eligible customer to contract directly with a generator, while network access and service charges still need rules.

PEA described a 2,000 megawatt policy framework involving Direct PPA and UGT and wants an EEC pilot. Another account describes 2,000 megawatts as the Direct PPA pilot allowance and says it is not reserved exclusively for data centers. These descriptions do not establish separate allowances that can be added together.

EGAT also cited data center electricity prices of approximately 6 to 7 baht per unit in the Philippines and more than 8 baht in Singapore. Those reported prices are not directly comparable with the Thai plan average without matching customer and billing conditions. Renewable energy certificates across ASEAN borders are another concept under discussion. Such certificates represent renewable attributes, which are distinct from the physical electricity delivered to a customer.

The dates and decisions that matter next

The immediate sequence combines consultation, expiring contracts, proposed network investment and a scheduled new plant. Thailand uses the Buddhist calendar in the reported dates; the timeline below gives their Gregorian equivalents.

• 2020: Cabinet approval of PEA electricity infrastructure investment for the EEC.
• September 8 to 15, 2026: Public consultation on draft PDP 2026.
• October 12, 2026: Reporting describes the plant extension debate and updated network investment proposals.
• 2027: EGAT targets the start of its larger EEC transmission program, subject to approval. Ratchaburi combined cycle contracts begin reaching expiry.
• 2028: Glow IPP is expected to reach contract expiry.
• 2029: Burapha Power is scheduled to begin supplying electricity.
• 2032: BLCP reaches its reported contract expiry.

No final date is stated for adopting PDP 2026, approving specific extensions or settling data center tariffs. PEA expects clearer rules over the following one to two years, but that expectation is not a binding approval deadline.

The decisions still needed are concrete: which applications qualify for electricity, which plants remain necessary, how long their contracts should run, what upgrades they require and who pays for network expansion. Resolving those issues together would distinguish a temporary response to delayed capacity from an unnecessary long commitment to existing plants.

Key Points

• EPPO is considering gas plant contract extensions individually, with no blanket approval announced.
• Combined data center requests of about 35,000 megawatts are almost four times the draft planning allowance of 8,800 megawatts.
• Reported request and national peak figures differ, and applications do not equal confirmed consumption.
• New large gas plants could take roughly seven years because of turbine delivery and construction schedules.
• Around seven years of contract renewal has been discussed, but terms and tariffs remain unsettled.
• EGAT proposes about 31 billion baht of EEC transmission investment; PEA is studying a separate 5 billion baht expansion.
• Developer guarantees, clean electricity rules and cost allocation will help determine how much investment proceeds and who pays.