Thailand to regulate use of LPG

Thailands Land Transport Department is to regulate vehicles using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Owners of petrol-to-gas converted vehicles must report their engine modification to the department within either 15 or 30 days of installation. Deputy Transport Minister Songsak Thongsri said modifying motorcycle engines was unacceptable because motorcycles were accident-prone. The cabinet endorsed a new regulation on vehicular equipment related to the transport of LPG and the use of LPG as a motor fuel. The regulation requires LPG-fueled vehicles to pass a standard examination and owners to attach LPG stickers on their vehicles. The amount of LPG-fueled vehicles in Thailand has risen to a million due to the rising prices of oil, according to Energy Minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop. The minister insisted on separating the retail prices of LPG used for transport and cooking. She said the government would subsidize only LPG used for cooking, to force motorists to switch to using compressed natural gas instead of LPG. The government would not subsidize LPG for the transport sector. It had just cleared a 10 billion baht (US$298.9 million) debt caused by past LPG subsidies, she said. (July 9, 2008)