Returns to Factors of Electricity Generation

The study focuses on the returns to factors of electricity production by different technologies, which can be beneficial to the promotion of electricity production in the future. Six (6) technologies employed for electricity production in Thailand, which are coal-fired, natural gas-fired, biomass, hydropower wind turbines, and solar photovoltaic power plants, are included in the study. Cash flow analysis is used as the tool to identify the distribution of the plants’ revenues to different factors of productions. Revenues received from electricity sales are paid to the required expenses, and shared among the factors of production, namely fuel costs, operation and maintenance expenses, utilities, personnel wages, taxes, interests, loans, and dividends. Power plants of different technologies require different amounts of investments and proportions factors of production. It is interesting to learn how the payments are returned to the owners of the factors of the production, which include fuel and utility suppliers, workers, owners, financial institutes (through interests and loans), government and society (through taxes), for a unit price of electricity paid by customers.