MP Exposes Collusion in People's Solar Project
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Pheu Thai party-list MP Supachai Chaisat has raised serious concerns about the government's People's Solar project. He stated that the project was advertised as a large-scale initiative giving the public complete freedom to choose their solar installer without any quota lock-ins for private firms. However, his investigation into the companies that passed the screening process revealed highly suspicious and abnormal linkage records.
Supachai said a deep dive into the data showed that among the more than 60 qualified companies, several share the same registered office address. Further scrutiny of company directors revealed identical names appearing repeatedly as shareholders across a network of over 120 companies. He likened this behavior to a game of musical chairs: whichever company a consumer picks, it ultimately belongs to the same capital group and network. Therefore, the claim of free competition is false.
Supachai also cited reports that 60-70% of SME entrepreneurs have decided to withdraw from the project, reflecting a crisis that leaves only 30% of companies still operating. Even among that remaining 30%, there is a high risk that they are commercially interconnected or engage in cross-shareholding to divide the benefits of this quasi-monopolistic project.
He argued the phenomenon reflects two critical dimensions: either 1) lax and ineffective vetting processes by state agencies, or 2) a deliberate intention by the government and those in power to set barrier conditions that block subcontractors in order to specially benefit one large capital group. Although hundreds of options appear on paper, in practice they serve only as a smokescreen to block fair competition.
