Consumers complain of high cost for NGV tanks

The Internal Trade Department will soon survey gas-tank installation costs following complaints of overcharging, while PTT has urged consumers to wait till next year when gas-tank prices fall as a result of stronger supply.

The department and PTT executives yesterday discussed ways to find the appropriate price to protect consumers from unfair practices.

 "The ministry will closely monitor the costs of gas tanks and installation to charge in line with market mechanisms. However, if the ministry finds any unscrupulous traders unfairly increasing prices, we will use the law to punish them," said Vatchari Vimooktayon, deputy director-general of the department. Overcharging is liable to seven years imprisonment and/or a fine of Bt140,000.

Car owners have complained that NGV installations have cost more than Bt70,000 a tank. They also have to line up for between two and six months for the installation due to  high demand but limited supply of imported NGV tanks.

PTT executive vice president Nattachart Jaruchinda yesterday insisted the company had inspected all installation garages registered with the firm and found no pricing irregularities for NGV tanks or installation costs. He said complaints could have arisen from motorists who had switched to LPG.

"PTT has supplied the garages with the gas tanks at cost price and it is difficult to overcharge," he said. PTT now supplies 30 per cent of NGV gas tanks. A 70-litre tank costs Bt14,000 while the 140-litre tanks are about Bt25,000. The overall installation cost is about Bt50,000.

Prasert Treeveelanuwat, managing director of Takuni (Thailand), an LPG tank distributor, admitted that LPG tank prices had escalated due to huge demand here and overseas, as motorists in neighbouring countries and Indonesia are resorting to the cheap gas. Prices are up as imports of LPG tanks are banned and it is a market of just three or four local producers. The tank price doubles from Bt4,000 to between Bt7,000 and Bt8,000 per tank, pushing up the injection-system installation cost from Bt40,000 to Bt44,000.

"It is an exaggeration to say that steel prices and labour costs have pushed up tank and installation costs," he said.

Punnachai Footrakul, PTT vice president for the NGV Marketing Department in the Exploration, Production and Gas Business Group, said NGV tanks would be cheaper next year as four companies will start local manufacturing. He said the current price is high due to the weak baht and the rising cost of steel.