7,500 electric bill for the month

[JoeyMac]

I'm in a brand new condo. High end of the market. 

 

You always heard the stories how cheap utilities were in Thailand, but at the moment my utility bill for electric is actually more expensive than the USA ! 

 

My latest bill came to 7,500. I verified the meter reading and it was indeed accurate. 

 

We sparadically use an a/c in the main living room for about an hour during the day - no more. We have two bedrooms, so we do have our a/c on for the evening at a temperate of around 23 degree whilst we sleep. 

 

We have one laptop, and one Mac computer, usual charging of phones. TV is on around 6-7 hours. 

 

When i querried it, i was told my bill was quite the average for the condo building. 

 

Thoughts as to what could be going on here  ? 

[Mike Lister]

How much do you pay per unit of electricity?

 

Condo's are notorious for padding electricity bills.

 

Just for reference:

 

"The Energy Regulatory Commission of Thailand has set new electricity charges, ranging from 4.68 baht to 5.95 baht/unit from January until April, 2024. The price from September until December this year has been 3.99 baht/unit".

 

My guess is that you're being charged around 9 baht?

 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/price-of-electricity-from-january-april-to-rise/#:~:text=The Energy Regulatory Commission of,has been 3.99 baht%2Funit.

[Crossy]

11 minutes ago, JoeyMac said:

I verified the meter reading and it was indeed accurate. 

 

How many units had you used for 7,500 Baht??

 

Do you get your bill from the condo management or direct from MEA/PEA?

 

[Eloquent pilgrim]

Nobody can offer you any advice or opinion, until you tell everyone how much per unit for electricity you are contracted to pay 

[soi3eddie]

Even at 9 Baht KWh that's extreme for that amount of usage. I hope the OP will give us more insight. 2,000 Baht per month would be more realistic based on stated use - so long as the OP is paying MEA/PEA rates and not inflated rates by landlord.

 

 

 

[Crossy]

22 minutes ago, JoeyMac said:

temperate of around 23 degree whilst we sleep

 

This probably isn't helping your consumption, do you have pet penguins?

[Lemsta69]

21 minutes ago, JoeyMac said:

I'm in a brand new condo. High end of the market. 

 

So around ฿600k per month? 

[JBChiangRai]

1 minute ago, Lemsta69 said:

 

So around ฿600k per month? 

Did you need to say that?

[Eloquent pilgrim]

2 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

 

So around ฿600k per month? 

 

huh ?

[Lemsta69]

1 minute ago, JBChiangRai said:

Did you need to say that?

 

Yes. 

[Lemsta69]

1 minute ago, Eloquent pilgrim said:

 

huh ?

 

That's what the high end of the market costs in the Silom area.

[Eloquent pilgrim]

Just now, Lemsta69 said:

 

That's what the high end of the market costs in the Silom area.

 

Is that where he said his condo was, and did he say he was renting ..... asking for a friend 

[Lacessit]

My condo bill for electricity is between 400 and 600 baht/month, depending on how much I use the aircon, which I set at 27 C.

As other posters have suggested, the OP's bills are obviously padded by the condo.

[Banana7]

My bill in Pattaya is 1500-2100b per month. The month ending January 17, 2024 is 2,182.23 baht for 465 units, billed and paid to the PEA. I run my AC at 23c, 1 unit 18k BTU inverter for 12-14 hours daily, 1 unit 18K BTU old R22 AC for 2 hours daily, 1 refrigerator, 1 TV, 2 hot water showers per day, 24 hrs CCTV 7 cameras, LED lights, 2 or 3computers, 3 or 4 phones.

[bbi1]

37 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

How much do you pay per unit of electricity?

 

Condo's are notorious for padding electricity bills.

 

How so? Every condo I lived in, the bill comes from MEA or PEA. Are you saying the MEA or PEA are padding electricity bills of condos?

[bbi1]

7 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

My condo bill for electricity is between 400 and 600 baht/month, depending on how much I use the aircon, which I set at 27 C.

My condo bill is between 400 & 500 baht/month too, but I don't use the aircon, only the fan. Who needs to even use the aircon at this time of the year? Just use the fan and open the doors & windows if needed.

[Mike Lister]

2 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

How so? Every condo I lived in, the bill comes from MEA or PEA. Are you saying the MEA or PEA are padding electricity bills of condos?

My condo bills in Chiang Mai always came from the Management Company rather than directly from PEA.

[scubascuba3]

Sounds like Op is renting and paying some high rate like 8 baht a unit.

 

Can you post the bill? blur out personal details if you prefer

[Lemsta69]

18 minutes ago, Eloquent pilgrim said:

 

Is that where he said his condo was, and did he say he was renting ..... asking for a friend 

 

Whatever dude.

[JoeyMac]

Okay so on my last bill ...

 

it says i used 1430 kWh. 

 

Again, i need to stress the only thing we are using any different to the US, is the air conditioning. We do keep it on at night in two rooms. Nothing else is different. 

 

Bill has come to 7 and half thousand Baht. Bill has Mea authority on the top. 

[Mike Lister]

Hmm, 5.24 per unit!

[Eloquent pilgrim]

20 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

 

Whatever dude.

 

So you don’t know where his condo is, you don’t know if he bought it or is renting it, and if he is renting, you have no idea how much he is paying …. you seem to have a few issues  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Eloquent pilgrim]

6 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

Hmm, 5.24 per unit!

 

agreed ... unit price is not excessive but usage seems to be; meter needs checking and / or recalibrating 

[Mike Lister]

23 degrees is too cold I suggest. Also, running an aircon in dehumidify mode instead of cooling mode will often achieve similar results but at a much lower cost.

[terryq]

According to PEA website (think MEA is about same) the use of 1430 units results in total bill of 7174 Baht.

 

So cost is about right BUT cannot believe you actually used 1430 units from your description.

 

[Sandboxer]

65sqm luxury condo in Poocrap, 2 aircon units running about 10hrs at 26-27c, I average about 2.5k/month

[Tropicalevo]

19 minutes ago, JoeyMac said:

Okay so on my last bill ...

 

it says i used 1430 kWh. 

 

Again, i need to stress the only thing we are using any different to the US, is the air conditioning. We do keep it on at night in two rooms. Nothing else is different. 

 

Bill has come to 7 and half thousand Baht. Bill has Mea authority on the top. 

I would think that two a/c units on all night plus intermittent day use could knock up a 7,000 baht bill.

Does that unit rate include VAT and FT charge?

[ballpoint]

The OP needs to switch off, and unplug where ever possible, everything electric in his condo and check to see if the meter is still spinning.

[Banana7]

24 minutes ago, JoeyMac said:

Okay so on my last bill ...

 

it says i used 1430 kWh. 

 

Again, i need to stress the only thing we are using any different to the US, is the air conditioning. We do keep it on at night in two rooms. Nothing else is different. 

 

Bill has come to 7 and half thousand Baht. Bill has Mea authority on the top. 

How big are your AC units, how many BTUs?  Something is drawing lots of power and basically tripling your bill. Based on my usage, which is similar to yours, I estimate your usage should be 600 Kwh or less, if you have modern ACs 18K BTU or less.

 

[JoeyMac]

12 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

I would think that two a/c units on all night plus intermittent day use could knock up a 7,000 baht bill.

Does that unit rate include VAT and FT charge?

 

 

There are two separate figures around 600 baht each, which i assume are the VAT at FT charges. Yes it is the total bill.