Uthai Thani homeowner gets 5,000 baht bill after meter upgrade

[snoop1130]

 

A homeowner in Uthai Thani was in for a shock when she received an electricity bill that surged to over 5,000 baht, a steep increase from the usual monthly payment of around 300 baht, following the installation of a new digital meter.

 

Despite complaining to the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), the issue remains unresolved. A citizen from the Uthai Thani municipality reported receiving an unusually high electricity bill after only one month of having a new meter installed.

 

Residents of a rental property in Uthai Mai subdistrict, Uthai Thani province, have been living with a manageable electricity bill of roughly 300 baht monthly. However, this changed abruptly for 48 year old Chalerm Sak (surname withheld) and his son after their meter was replaced with a digital one as part of a province-wide upgrade.

 

The new system, which displays consumption in digital format, initially didn’t raise any concerns for Chalerm until he did not receive his usual bill last month. Concerned about a potential power cut, he checked his previous bills and was stunned to find a charge for 1,084 units of electricity, amounting to a bill of 5,374.77 baht for February alone.

 

Chalerm suspects the dramatic increase resulted from the meter change and posits a possible error on the part of the officials who recorded the meter reading. Adding to his distress, Chalerm’s income as a gas delivery worker is a modest 300 baht per day, insufficient to cover the exorbitant bill. Although he reported the issue five days ago, there has been no response from the PEA, reported KhaoSod.

 

Interestingly, the electricity bill for March, delivered after the complaint, reflected the typical usage of around 100 units, equating to a charge of 322 baht. This suggests that the February bill was an anomaly. Chalerm now fears a power cutoff, admitting he does not have the financial means to pay the outstanding bill.

In related news, an investigation conducted on February 12 at the Government Housing Project in Pattaya revealed an electricity meter tampering scandal.

 

By Nattapong Westwood

Caption: Photo courtesy of KhaoSod

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-03-26

 

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[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Interestingly, the electricity bill for March, delivered after the complaint, reflected the typical usage of around 100 units, equating to a charge of 322 baht. This suggests that the February bill was an anomaly. Chalerm now fears a power cutoff, admitting he does not have the financial means to pay the outstanding bill

Stick to your guns, something was wrong with the reading.

History of bills will provide the evidence.

[Skipalongcassidy]

"part of a province-wide upgrade."... Upgrade does not translate in Thai... ie when this forum does an "upgrade"

[WDSmart]

I had a similar but opposite problem with my electric meter.

My normal electric bill was usually around THB 5,000. That's for two houses, a barn, and a pump on a well. I've paid a fee like that for years.

About half a year ago, my electric bill suddenly dropped to only a few hundred THBs. I asked my Thai wife to notify the electric office when she paid the bill that the meter was not working properly. It took them about two months to come and install a new one. Now, for the past couple of months, my electric bill is only about THB 2,000. So I now wonder if the old meter was not working correctly and charging me too much, or if this new meter is not working correctly and charging me too little! 

I'm just going to go with this one and not question its accuracy with the electric office.