Sky High Monthly Electric Charges

[ehs818]

I've lived in the same Pattaya townhouse for more than 3 years. My monthly bill usually runs between 1200-1800 baht. The last 3 months my bill has been over 2500 baht. I've changed nothing and use my AC only at night in one room. The remaining things I use are 2 fridges, my pc, and some tv viewing. Anyone else notice a spike in their monthly bill?

[wayned]

mine's been the same for a long time averaging a little over 4baht/kwh including VAT.  Could be that someone has "tapped" into your electric line and is stealing power.  I live in the last house on a dirt road in farm country and sometimes the local farmers will "tap" into my meter to run pumps for irrigation pumps, especially this year.  I always make sure that they hook to the PEA side of the meter so my electric doesn't go up.  It's done all of the time here and the PEA man just looks the other way.

[Puchaiyank]

Can you hear if your water pump is kicking on and off often?  

[banglay]

Their was a electricity unit price increase a few months ago .This is  more  likely to be the reason for th higher bills ....My Leccy bill went up by around 650Baht (avg)  with the increases ...can't really complain not had many increases over the last 11yrs since I arrived.

[bkk6060]

Everyone I know is saying their bills have gone up over the past few months.

 

 

Edited July 18, 2019 by bkk6060

[sanemax]

7 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Everyone I know is saying their bills have gone up over the past few months.

 

 

How many people do you know ?

[CharlieH]

I would say its up by around 30%, a combination of change in rates but mostly higher use due to extended hot periods this last year (in my case/location)

[ianezy0]

You may find that what you store in the fridges makes a difference to your power usage.

Chang = 2 units per bott

Singha = 2 units per bott

Tiger = 2.5 units per bott.

Corona = 4 units per bott

San Miguel = 5 units per bott.

etc etc

Also, if you drink more than a carton of 24 per week, there is a further consumption charge.

 

[bkk6060]

31 minutes ago, sanemax said:

How many people do you know ?

Oh, many many.

Why, you need some friends? ????

Edited July 18, 2019 by bkk6060

[jacko45k]

Do you keep your old bills? Important to see if your consumption has gone up, or the price you pay! IE Number of 'units', under 'consumption' on my bill. My bill also shows the consumption for the previous 6 months, so if yours is the same, you should be able to see  if you are using more. 

My last bill was actually somewhat cheaper, because I was having work done and the pool pump not running. My bills for April and May were higher, hot hot weather. ANd the sun hits my bedroom wall afternoons and evening.

 

In your case, when was the AC last serviced? 

Edited July 18, 2019 by jacko45k

[ehs818]

My water pump does not constantly cycle, so that is not it. I'm in a group of townhouses and I've looked at my wires and meter and see no tampering. The monthly bill shows a history of previous months and my usage normally averages about 400 units. this month it was almost 600. I'm going to have to have a conversation with PEA and try to figure this out. Thanks all!

[thailand49]

First, shut the house down completely then go out to the meter to see if it is still running, if so, contact a good electrian.

 

As for your bill, the bills now list the previous month usage, it is very simple if the rates has gone up take the total usage and divide the total amount.

 

If nothing has changed in your living it will be very tough to get the PEA to come out and inspect or replace the meter it took me sometime and when they did my bill drop back to normal the meters do go out or malfunctions.

Edited July 19, 2019 by thailand49

[melovethai]

ours has risen from an average of 4,300 to the last couple being 5,500

[wayned]

2 minutes ago, melovethai said:

ours has risen from an average of 4,300 to the last couple being 5,500

I just paid m,ine yesterday and it is still 4.3.  The fuel tariff which normally controls the rate change is still the same as it has been for months, -0.1160.

[AlQaholic]

Who in their right mind need two fridges?

[Pib]

Hey folks, if you are using an A/C the last several months are the hottest months of the year (each and every year)....your A/C must work harder to cool your home.   The harder your A/C works the more KiloWattHours (KWH) you use....use more KWH and your electric bill is higher.   And if your A/C is dirty it will eat more electricity anytime during the year.  Typical for KWH to go up 30-50% during the Thailand hottest months (i.e., the last few months) if you are using A/C....especially if it's a standard A/C and not an inverter A/C.

Edited July 19, 2019 by Pib

[Fairynuff]

My circumstances for usage are exactly the same as always but my last 2 bills are up by around 30%

[Guderian]

My April/May bill was at least 1000 Baht higher than normal. Eventually I put my glasses on and checked the numbers and it was easily the highest number of units I'd ever used, over 1000 kWhr. That explained the high bill. April and May were extremely hot and dry months here in Pattaya and I simply must have been using the AC quite a bit more than normal, or else the AC was working harder than normal due to the heat. In May/June I went back to the UK for a month and the bill was normal for a month when I'm out of the country. I just think it's been an extremely hot year, I've lived here for 15 years and have never moaned about the heat like I did this year.

[colinneil]

Just got our bill 10 minutes ago, usage 214, last month 258, february 130.

Looking at last year, july usage 176, june 158, february 141.

So i think it is due to the extreme weather we are getting, nothing to do with price increase.

[UncleMhee]

58 minutes ago, AlQaholic said:

Who in their right mind need two fridges?

Username spings to mind; though you at least qualified the question.

[Pib]

No price increase; just higher KWH usage.  Been HOT for the last few months....just like every year during that time period. 

 

I have logs on my electric bill going back a decade....same-same increase in KWH usage during the approx Apr/May/Jun timeframe.  I'm still using my A/Cs and other electrics as I do throughout the year.....that is, they are always in use.

 

If you use A/C and although you are still using it like you always do throughout the year, during the approx Apr/May/Jun period the A/C must work significantly harder than compared to the rest of the year....uses more KWH to maintain inside temperature. 

 

Use more KWH...in turn your electric bill goes up...basic math.

[Pib]

1 hour ago, AlQaholic said:

Who in their right mind need two fridges?

Durn...I must be crazy....I got three fridges.  

[Jaxxper]

1 hour ago, AlQaholic said:

Who in their right mind need two fridges?

Simples.....one for food and one for beer !!

[wayned]

11 minutes ago, Pib said:

Durn...I must be crazy....I got three fridges.  

So do I.  My biggest user of electricity is my old 45" plasma TV that's on about 16 hours/day whether I'm watching it or not and it draws 380 watts, which cost me about 820 baht/month to run.

[Pib]

7 minutes ago, wayned said:

So do I.  My biggest user of electricity is my old 45" plasma TV that's on about 16 hours/day whether I'm watching it or not and it draws 380 watts, which cost me about 820 baht/month to run.

Oh, my biggest users are two A/Cs that I run a lot....I have 7 A/Cs in the house but only 2 get run everyday.  One runs 24/7 and the other 12/7.   And each and every Apr/May/Jun time frame my electric bill jumps up due to higher KWH usage since the A/Cs must work harder to maintain inside temp at 26C.

[crazykopite]

Just had my bill today I have a swimming pool on from 9 till 5  fish pond pump on 9 till 5 65” tv on 5 till 11 American double door fridge 24/7 Air con units x2 1800 btu that heat up water on 5 till 11 plus Mr Ken Fans 50+ low voltage lights inside and out internet , imac , iPads , front load wash machine + dryer my bill 2.521. 41 baht  that’s for 539 units everything is low voltage and inverter that’s the way to go if you want to save electric the outlay is costly but very cost effective plus there is less wear and tear on the equipment 

[orientfan]

I'm in a Bangkok condo and have only been here 2 months. 1st bill was B1600 and the 2nd, B1500. I don't use a lot of aircon...

Would be very interested to know what others pay in the capital. Have a good Friday everyone!

[Pib]

And your bill's Usage History above does a good job of showing the a big rise in KWH usage starting for the March bill as Thailand comes out of the cooler months into the hottest months.  Now starting right about now KWH will start slowly going down as the hottest months are over....we start slowly moving to a cooler period time of year. 

 

And by cool, I don't mean it still don't feel hot....it's just not as hot as the last few months...A/C don't work quite as hard.  And then by the time well get to mid Nov to about mid Feb we are in the cool months again....A/Cs don't need to work as hard...and a lot of people don't even use them during the cooler part of the year. 

 

People get use to their lower electric bills during the cool months and some seem shocked when the electric bill shoots back up in the hot months.  

[Pib]

9 minutes ago, orientfan said:

I'm in a Bangkok condo and have only been here 2 months. 1st bill was B1600 and the 2nd, B1500. I don't use a lot of aircon...

Would be very interested to know what others pay in the capital. Have a good Friday everyone!

Since you are in Bangkok then MEA provides your electricity.  Easy enough to determine your electric right to the stang by just entering your KWH usage in their bill calculator....just enter KWH usage...nothing else. 

 

A bill for Bt1600 means you are using real close to 400KWH "if you are paying normal MEA rates."  But if your landlord bills you for your electricity vs MEA then the landlord might use higher pricing....cranks in a profit for himself.

 

Everybody uses different amounts of electricity...no two residences are identical in how many electrical appliances they use and how they use them daily....especially A/C usage. 

 

MEA Electric Bill Calculator

https://www.mea.or.th/en/aboutelectric/116/280/form/11

Edited July 19, 2019 by Pib

[KhunBENQ]

Our consumption from February to July. Nothing unusual.

The further rise from June to July is due to the fact that temporarily some family members moved in and using yet another AC.

 

And this rate hike from April to May was about 1% per unit.

Hard to notice and not an explanation for unexpected bill rises.

Edited July 19, 2019 by KhunBENQ