"This will allow the ministry to issue regulations to control energy-consuming resources used in the other sectors," the source said.

The law now applies only to factories and buildings.

The ministry will ask for approval for the draft amendment from the National Energy Policy and Planning Board, which will meet on Friday.

The ministry wants the amendment so that it can publish energy-efficiency ratings for all fuel-burning transport vehicles, farm equipment and building materials.

Mana Nitikul, an official at the Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Office, said the ministry had established a working committee under permanent secretary Pornchai Rujiprapha to prepare energy-saving measures for machinery tools and engines.

The ministry will also work more closely with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand in promoting energy conservation, to ensure that the public is buying only low-energy appliances.

It will also cooperate with the Industrial Standards Office in setting the minimum efficiency ratio for electric appliances to divert public attention from cheap products that could prove dangerous.