Disparate energy departments were consolidated by the government with the establishment of the National Energy Policy Committee in 1992 (B.E.2535) under the National Energy Policy Council Act (1992). It is responsible for managing the energy sector in Thailand, including granting energy operating licenses and issuing energy pricing regulations. Thaksin Shinawatra, then prime minister in 2002, established the Bureau of Energy on 2 November 2001, B.E.2544, which was later upgraded to the Ministry of Energy in 2002 pursuant to the Restructuring of Government Organization Act (2002).
