Thailand’s electricity consumption rose by almost half from 2002 to 2013. In 2012, the BMR consumed about 40 percent of the national total, even though it contains about one- fifth of the country’s population and constitutes only 1.5 percent of the country’s total land area. While other sectors and spaces have also certainly contributed to Thailand’s increased consumption, the BMR is undoubtedly a key contributor. The metropolitan’s unique
unplanned urbanization, particularly in the forms of more and larger shopping malls combined with a regulatory structure that promotes virtually unlimited consumption, has created ever-increasing demand for electricity. The electricity sector in BMR is also unequal because consumers in this area have “benefited from this seemingly cheap electricity which hides power projects’ liabilities” (Middleton 2010). Rather than suffer from these projects’ adverse impacts, they can enjoy the cool temperatures and escalators in the shopping malls. Members of low-income communities, in contrast, rarely frequent these malls because they cannot afford to shop there.