Deputy government spokesman Nattawat Suttiyotin said if all auctions were called off, all pending projects would be stalled for eight to 10 months and could incur damage to the generating business or higher expenses from new auctions.

"Cancelling the auctions could induce damage claims, which could eventually affect the power rate," he said.

Meanwhile, the subcommittee on power tariffs yesterday agreed to cut the fuel tariff for the February-May period by 5 satang a unit. During the period, consumers will pay Bt2.98 per unit, compared with Bt3.03 at present.

Energy deputy permanent secretary and panel chairman Norkhun Sitthipong said the tariff could have been cut 7.85 satang per unit but for Egat's burden to repay loans and interest to PTT.

Andaman Sea fields awarded

The Energy Ministry has awarded four more exploration fields, three of which are in the Andaman Sea, where there has been no exploration in the past 10 years. The other one is in the Gulf of Thailand.

The awardees are Pearl Oil Bangkok, Horizon Oil (Siam), Thana Resources and PTTEP Offshore Investment.

Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand said traces of oil and natural gas were last found in the Andaman Sea during exploration in 1997.

Elite Card assured of survival

The Tourism and Sports Ministry has given assurances that Thailand Privilege Card (TPC), issuer of the Thailand Elite Card, will continue to operate.

Tourism Minister Suvit Yodmani yesterday said there was no reason to close the company.

It is proposed that TPC should cancel all deals with sales and marketing representatives so that the role could be transferred to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). TPC has almost 20 local and foreign marketing representatives.