As drivers panic buy diesel and the public is urged to limit air con use, Thai civil servants are ordered home to preserve dwindling energy
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenAidan JonesPublished: 11:02am, 11 Mar 2026Updated: 11:11am, 11 Mar 2026Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has finalised his coalition partners and tapped allies for cabinet posts, but the spillover from the war in the Middle East is already diluting the economic momentum his new government hopes to take into office.Anutin’s in-tray was already bulging with promises to address domestic woes, including high household debt and a slowdown in growth that has led to an anaemic 2026 forecast of between 1.5 and 2.1 per cent.
The energy ministry on Tuesday said there were currently no fuel shortages. But with three months of reserves slowly dwindling as the conflict drags into a second week, Anutin called on government workers to stay at home where possible, while a wider appeal has gone out to the public to conserve energy including by limiting air conditioning units to 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 degrees Fahrenheit) – just as the kingdom enters its hottest season.
“The prime minister ordered that starting from today [Tuesday] civil servants will work from home,” spokeswoman Lalida Periswiwatana told reporters.
Some drivers have begun panic buying diesel while businesses brace for impact from a prolonged Middle East war on their supply chain and energy needs in a country brutally exposed to a far-off conflict.
