[en] Structure and ownership: In 1969, the EGAT was established. It took the responsibility of providing electricity for the general population and became the largest state-owned electricity company. It controlled generation and transmission networks throughout the country and left the distribution of electricity to the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA). Since 1992, the Thai government has promoted a greater role for the private sector in the power generation business in the form of IPPs and SPPs. The role of the private sector in the electricity industry has been increasing since the initiation of the reform in the 1990s, mainly through their ownership of IPPs and SPPs. They have generally supplied electricity to EGAT on the basis of long term PPAs, typically backed by a government guarantee for a fixed return on investment, and supported by the provision of a number of tax and non-tax incentives. The entry of IPPs and SPPs altered the industry ownership from public to a mix of public and private owners. The share of private generating companies in electricity supply has continuously increased since their entry in the mid-1990s. Much of the increase is contributed by IPPs. In 2010, EGAT owned 44%, IPPs nearly 45% and SPPs 9% of the total electricity generation capacity. The current structure of the Thai electricity industry is a kind of monopsony. Under this structure, EGAT – a combined national generation and transmission utility – has the responsibility for electricity generation, power purchase, system operation, electricity transmission and bulk power supply to the distribution utilities. Furthermore, EGAT is playing a dominant role in the system development, planning and decision making processes in industrial policy. EGAT buys electricity from the IPPs, SPPs and neighbouring countries on the basis of PPAs and memorandums of understanding. SPPs can sell their electricity either to EGAT or to industrial customers located next to their plants. EGAT mainly sells electricity to the distribution utilities MEA and PEA. It also sells a small portion of electricity directly to some large customers through its transmission grid. The distribution and retail segments of the electricity industry are dominated by the MEA and PEA