PEA Bill reading clarification if anybody knows?

[topt]

I go through periods where I monitor the electricity usage on the meter and sometimes check the bill vs the meter reading.

The last few months where I have done this there appears to be a larger differential then there ever used to be between the bill reading and the meter itself. Always lower and today significantly so.

 

So on the bill below it gives a meter reading date and time of 14/04, at I presume midnight, and a printing date of 15/04 at 06.41. I had always presumed the "Recent reading" figure was taken at the printing date? 

 

It being a holiday I hadn't expected the bill for a few days so did not realise it was in the box until 11am. When I checked the actual meter reading it was 12316 - 26 units more than on the bill. For context recent usage over 24 hours has been between 17 and 21 units. A week ago usage overnight until 11 the next morning was only 9 units. 

 

So my question is when was the 12290 reading actually taken?

 

[KannikaP]

The meter reading and printing dates/time are exactly the same on my bills.

I doubt whether someone came at midnight to read the meter. Have you compared previous bills.

 

I don't know if there still any discounts to be had for using below a certain usage. The man usually comes on 17th of each month, but know that my use will be over 400 units IF they come to read a few days late due to Songkran

[treetops]

Looks to me like you have ~35 hours usage between the meter reading and your reading which if your 24 hour figure of 17 - 21 units is correct would be 25 - 30 units.  At 26 units actual it's where you would expect it to be.

 

14th April 00:00:00 is midnight at the end of the 13th/beginning of the 14th.

[MJCM]

Do you by any chance have an electronic meter?

[KhunBENQ]

A >conventional< meter is read by a guy scooting around, looking up (possible using some stick and camera? for meters hanging high up).

He enters the reading it to his handheld terminal and prints it from there and puts the bill it in the box/mailbox.

At the online PEA app it will not appear until next morning.

 

What time? Who knows. It's done when it's done.

Date is usually the same every month.

 

That's what happens at our house.

Unfortunately I don't have a printed bill at hand to check about timestamps.

 

Conventional meter: you now see more and more smart meters.

Look very different and can be connected as a "mesh" network.

Read remote. But I don't know too much about it.

Edited April 15, 2023 by KhunBENQ

[KhunBENQ]

8 minutes ago, MJCM said:

Do you by any chance have an electronic meter?

Good question and might explain the "midnight" reading.

6:41 in the morning? Seems still a guy with a handheld prints the bill just having the readings in his terminal already? Or printed centrally? Unsure.

Edited April 15, 2023 by KhunBENQ

[MJCM]

5 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Good question and might explain the "midnight" reading.

6:41 in the morning? Seems still a guy with a handheld prints the bill just having the readings in his terminal already? Or printed centrally? Unsure.

My guess is the guy delivering the bill, ours (not a electronic meter) was read and printed this morning at 5:54am 

[KhunBENQ]

Just seen an example bill here from the forum and reading and printing time are identical (as stated in post above)

So the midnight reading must be something/new different.

 

[MJCM]

4 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Just seen an example bill here from the forum and reading and printing time are identical (as stated in post above)

So the midnight reading must be something/new different.

 

This is ours from this morning (10 sec difference)

 

[KhunBENQ]

Smart Meters, two self taken pictures from Aug 2020 in Pattaya:

(from what I remember they started in Pattaya testing the devices)

Edited April 15, 2023 by KhunBENQ

[sandyf]

45 minutes ago, topt said:

So my question is when was the 12290 reading actually taken?

If the bill comes from a man on a motorbike then the reading would be the same time as printing, as is the case with mine, usually about midday.

One thing I notice is the version number on mine is 016 as opposed to 017 on yours. It wouldn't be out of the question for newer software to be geared up for changes in the pipeline.

Another strange thing was i got a receipt for the previous bill come through the post, forgot when they stopped that but at least a few years ago now.

[KhunBENQ]

42 minutes ago, treetops said:

14th April 00:00:00 is midnight at the end of the 13th/beginning of the 14th.

And they do their job on Songkran

[treetops]

1 minute ago, KhunBENQ said:

And they do their job on Songkran

All my recent meter readings are shown at 00:00 on the bill and I don't think the computer knows about Songkran.  Smart meters were fitted here a while ago.

[sandyf]

33 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Good question and might explain the "midnight" reading.

6:41 in the morning? Seems still a guy with a handheld prints the bill just having the readings in his terminal already? Or printed centrally? Unsure.

Last reading I saw the guy come, he went to the pole first to read 2 of the meters, the 3rd he had already done further along. He came to the gate to put the bills in the letterbox and I went and got them from him, he drove off.

About 5 minutes later he was back shouting his head off and I went to the gate. He asked for the bills back, had a good look at them, handed them back and drove off. When I looked I could see mine had been separated, must have torn off in the wrong place.

[Mickeymaus]

I have a smart meter too in Pattaya. The time is also 00. But this is not the time when he checks. I checked very old bills before the smart meter. There I had the time. 

[topt]

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

Just seen an example bill here from the forum and reading and printing time are identical (as stated in post above)

So the midnight reading must be something/new different.

 

My old bills were like that except always early in the morning but same date and time. They came and changed all the meters in the village about 18 months ago or so. Looks like they can now read remotely but need the guy to come and deliver the bill - which also has the receipt for the last payment underneath it.

[topt]

39 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

I have a smart meter too in Pattaya. The time is also 00. But this is not the time when he checks. I checked very old bills before the smart meter. There I had the time. 

Same except I did not realise the meters were smart...........

[topt]

1 hour ago, MJCM said:

Do you by any chance have an electronic meter?

I guess so -

[topt]

1 hour ago, treetops said:

Looks to me like you have ~35 hours usage between the meter reading and your reading which if your 24 hour figure of 17 - 21 units is correct would be 25 - 30 units.  At 26 units actual it's where you would expect it to be.

 

14th April 00:00:00 is midnight at the end of the 13th/beginning of the 14th.

Thanks yes that appears to make sense. Our guy always comes early so never actually see if he looks at the meter or just delivers the bill.

[MJCM]

1 hour ago, topt said:

I guess so -

Yep that is one so that explains it, the system reads at 00:00 remotely and the meter reader prints and drops off the actual bill when he comes around.

 

In the future (it is my guess) that everyone (who has a smart / electronic meter) is "forced" to install the PEA App and then the BILL will automatically show up in the APP and thus the Meter reader guy is out of a job

[topt]

1 minute ago, MJCM said:

the PEA App

I would not mind the app but isn't this only all in Thai at the moment?

[MJCM]

14 minutes ago, topt said:

I would not mind the app but isn't this only all in Thai at the moment?

Nope

 

You can set it in English.

 

 

 

[topt]

Just now, MJCM said:

Nope

 

You can set it in English.

 

 

 

Thanks I will have to try that

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, MJCM said:

and thus the Meter reader guy is out of a job

During my first years the PEA guy/contractor came to the gate and bill was paid in cash.

[MJCM]

11 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

During my first years the PEA guy/contractor came to the gate and bill was paid in cash.

That is progress for you.

 

In our old village one guy collects a lot of the PEA bills with the money and an extra 20 THB and then drives to work and during his "lunch" hour he goes to the PEA office and pays the bills. Nice little earner for him.