Chanchai Amornvipas

Director of Energy Innovation and Regulatory Development Department, Office of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)

Speaker

Chanchai Amornvipas is the Director of Energy Innovation and Regulatory Development Department at the Office of the Energy Regulatory Commission (OERC) of Thailand. He is responsible for regulatory development towards competition in the energy sector, including power and gas businesses. In order to promote energy innovation, the ERC Sandbox Program has been initiated, monitored by his department, with a view to testing energy-related technologies in the real environment by relaxing some regulations with sufficient supporting measures in order to limit possible impacts on system security and stakeholders. His department has recently developed the "Utility Green Tariff" (UGT), which is a new tariff option to provide power users with supply from renewable energy resources in compliance with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission reporting obligation.

Prior to joining the OERC, Chanchai worked as a technical consultant and engineer for industrial and power sectors at SIEMENS Power Technology International (PTI) in Germany, and ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions and Black & Veatch in Thailand.

Chanchai earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Leibniz University of Hannover in Germany, his master's degree from RWTH Aachen University in Germany and bachelor's degree from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

Piti Eiamchamroonlarp

Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University

Speaker

Piti Eiamchamroonlarp is an Assistant Professor at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Law and serves as Director of the LL.M. (Business Law) International Program. His academic background includes a Ph.D. in oil and gas law from the University of Aberdeen and multiple advanced law degrees. He is a leading Thai legal scholar specializing in energy law, environmental sustainability, and public-private partnerships, with numerous publications in both Thai and international journals. Dr. Piti has played a pivotal role in drafting key legislation, including the Circular Economy Promotion Act and amendments to the Petroleum and Energy Industry Acts. He has advised global organizations such as UNDP, UNEP, and the SEC on legal frameworks for low-carbon growth, carbon pricing, and environmental reporting. His expertise is frequently sought by government agencies and private companies for energy project development and regulatory reform. He serves on multiple national committees, including the Steering Committee on Climate Change Strategy and the Committee on Power Forecast and National Power Development Plan. Dr. Piti is also an arbitrator at the Thailand Arbitration Center, specializing in energy and environmental disputes. He has received several prestigious awards for research and teaching excellence.

Areeporn Asawinpongphan

Research Fellow, Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI)

Speaker

Dr. Areeporn Asawinpongphan is a Research Fellow in Energy Policy at the Thailand Development Research Institute, with over 20 years of experience in corporate strategy in the energy sector. Her background includes global roles at ExxonMobil and Banpu, as well as consulting with McKinsey & Company, focusing on strategic transformation, energy transition, and market reform. She is currently leading the study on the reforming of Thailand's electricity market, aiming to enhance competition, sustainability, and long-term resilience. She actively serves on national subcommittees related to energy policy, regulation, law reform, and public engagement.

Warit Rattanachuen

Assistant Governor, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand

Speaker

Warit Rattanachuen serves as Assistant Governor at EGAT, a state enterprise, managed by the Ministry of Energy, responsible for electric power generation and transmission as well as bulk electric energy sales in Thailand. At EGAT, Warit is leading on Research, Innovation, Corporate Strategy and Business Development with the primary ambition to drive energy transition in renewables more sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy system that draw from smart-sited and sustainably-sourced resources.

Warit is recognized as one of the Green Energy Trading experts in ASEAN to support corporates access sufficient green energy supply and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) that it is a scheme of achieving renewable energy targets and a credible means to report that the consumed energy comes from renewable energy sources. He also initiated many landmarks of the new technology projects, Battery storage and E-mobility to continue support energy sector and country in achieving their carbon neutrality goal to drive systemic change.

Moreover, Warit is a member of the Investment Committee of Innospace (Thailand) and INNOPOWER, which are the innovation companies focus on energy and technology innovation investment in Thailand. Previously, he was the Director of Corporate Strategy where he oversees all activities of corporate strategy, corporate risk management and State-owned enterprise assessment. Prior to that Warit worked in a field of power system control and operations for 19 years.

Somchai Songsiri

Assistant Governor, Provincial Electricity Authority

Speaker

Somchai Songsiri is the PEA Assistant Governor (Planing and Engineering - Power System Planing and Development). He graduated from King Mongkut University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Thailand with a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering (B.Eng.EE) in 1994 and King Mongkut University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB) in Thailand with Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering (M.Eng.EE) in 2007 and Doctoral Degree in Electrical Engineering (Ph.D.EE) in 2014. He started his career as an Electrical Engineer with Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) in 1997. He worked in the Engineering Department for 13 years carrying out engineering, technical specification formation, testing inspection, and failure analysis of electrical equipment. He also has experience in power system analysis, reliability and power quality. He is one of PEA's experts for factory acceptance tests of electrical equipment and has experiences with factories in locally and abroad. He has since moved to maintenance, with responsibilities for preventive maintenance and asset management of power systems and equipment. He was assigned to be Assistant Governor (Grid OperationNetwork Asset Management) and moved to be responsible for the PEA Assistant Governor (Planing and Engineering - Power System Planing and Development) since 1st October 2024.

Knathip Spuntupong

Director of Power System Research and Innovation Department, Metropolitan Electricity Authority

Speaker

Knathip Spuntupong holds a B.Eng. in Electric Power Engineering from Kasetsart University, a M.S. in Electrical Power Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a M.B.E. in Business Economics from the National Institute of Development Administration, and a Ph.D. in Knowledge Management from Chiang Mai University. Since joining MEA in 1994, he has advanced through various technical and leadership roles, with expertise in substation design, protection and control systems, project management, and power system planning. He has served as Director of the Power System Research and Innovation Department since 2023.

Worawut Waruttamapornsu

Country Managing Director of Hitachi

Speaker

Worawut Waruttamapornsu is the Country Managing Director of Hitachi Energy (Thailand) Limited.

Dr. Worawut holds B. Eng in Electrical Engineering from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, M. Eng and Ph.D. in the same field from the University of Tokyo, Japan.

He joined Hitachi Energy's predecessor in 2006 and had worked in sales and marketing management for power products and power systems at the country, regional and global level. Directly prior to becoming Country Managing Director, he was Head of the Company's Grid Integration Business Unit.

Pierre-Louis Dardenne

Sales Manager, New Energy Landscape, Schneider (Thailand) Limited

Speaker

Pierre-Louis is a forward-thinking leader at Schneider Electric, currently serving as Sales Manager with a mission to shape the New Energy Landscape. Since joining the company in 2013, he has held pivotal roles including Business Development Lead and Utility-Scale Solar Project Manager, where he successfully drove large-scale renewable energy initiatives and strategic partnerships. With deep expertise in energy systems and digital transformation, Pierre-Louis is dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that enhance grid resilience, efficiency, and sustainability. His work focuses on integrating electric vehicles, distributed energy resources, and AI-powered technologies into modern energy infrastructures. Pierre-Louis is a passionate advocate for grid modernization, leveraging data-driven insights and advanced software to empower utilities and industries in their transition to a smarter, cleaner energy future. His leadership continues to drive impactful change across markets, aligning technology with sustainability goals.

Naebboon Hoonchareon

Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University

Session Chair

Naebboon Hoonchareon received his B.Eng. (Hons) in electrical engineering from Chulalongkorn University in 1993 and his MSEE and Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1996 and 2000, respectively. He is an Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, where he leads the Smart Grid Research Unit. His research focuses on power system dynamics and control, energy management systems in smart grids, and solar power forecasting and its applications in distributed energy resource management. For several years, he has also served as an advisory board member of the IEEE Power and Energy Systems, Thailand Chapter.