Transformer Question

[andy capp]

Hello all,does anyone know how much a three phase 50 kva transformer would cost(approx),and where i can get one on Samui.Thanks for your help,Andy

[elkangorito]

Just a quick question...why do you want one of these beasts?

[longball53098]

I would say the first place to ask is the Samui offices of the PEA. They should know how much for a transformer.

[Crossy]

I can't speak for Samui, but the contractor you're going to use for the installation could well supply the beastie cheaper than going to PEA.

You are using a contractor aren't you? It's not exactly a DIY installation job

[Rimmer]

We purchased or own own 50KVA transformer about three years back, it sits on a pole inside our garden. The HT line we tapped into is about 1km away so we needed a lot of poles and HT cable which made the job a bit costly.

We used a qualified PEA contractor for the whole job but my wife thinks the transformer was itemized on the bill of quantities for less than 50,000 baht, sadly I no longer have a copy but certainly they are not as expensive as one would have first supposed.

[elkangorito]

We purchased or own own 50KVA transformer about three years back, it sits on a pole inside our garden. The HT line we tapped into is about 1km away so we needed a lot of poles and HT cable which made the job a bit costly.

We used a qualified PEA contractor for the whole job but my wife thinks the transformer was itemized on the bill of quantities for less than 50,000 baht, sadly I no longer have a copy but certainly they are not as expensive as one would have first supposed.

Were you outside of a "zoned" area at that time? What I mean by "zoned" is that the area was zoned for development.

(The below comments are not directed at you, Rimmer. They are directed at the OP).

I wouldn't pay a cent for an "upgrade" (already buying electricity from the PEA/MEA). An establishment in an unzoned area may very well attract a "supply & install" cost.

The bad thing here is that there is an electricity monopoly in Thailand. These bastards know this & therefore aren't easily pushed around.

Nonetheless, if you are already paying for power & it is faulty, there is no need to buy your own transformer in order to "fix" a problem. If you find yourself saying, "Perhaps a new/bigger transformer will fix my power problems?", you also need to be asking yourself this question; "Why do I have power problems?"

If you have power supply problems, you need to find out why you have such problems, before you rush out & potentially waste money on a transformer.

Essentially, foreigners who do not question the quality of electrical power supply, will end up supplying half of the power to Thailand...for free.

One last thing...why is 50kVA relevant? Why not 20kVA or 30kVA? Or is this just another exercise at throwing money at something in order to solve a "perceived" problem?

[andy capp]

Thanks for the input guys. i have been quoted 350 000bt just for the transformer by a contractor which i think is a bit cheeky.Its for a commercial development which will require 50 kva,ive checked with an electrical engineer friend. 50 000bt sounds a lot better Rimmer,think its time to shop around,thanks again.

[kamalabob2]

I built a home in 2008 on a private road four poles lengths away from the municipal road. On the municipal road were wires with both single phase and three phase electricity that you can hook up to for a fee from the PEA. My next door neighbor has a sensible size home and he needed 30 amp single phase meter and service. So at his expense he paid a local electrical contractor to run his cement poles, wires, etc.. I "assumed" I could do with similar wires and use his poles when I built my home. WRONG. The PEA was very clear that with the electrical maximum potential CONSUMPTION of our home based on the approved "electric plan" (how many plugs, breakers, a/c, light fixtures, etc...) that I MUST have 50 amp THREE phase service. They would not allow electrical hook up with single phase. Fair enough, safety is a primary concern in Thailand.

So they made a written price quote on PEA staff to install the five, 12 meter poles necessary, 3 phase transformer and HOST OF OTHER ITEMS ACTUALLY NECESSARY to safely obtain 3 phase power. This is NOT a job for a "somchia electric man" from the village. The PEA quote was over 350,000 baht for the parts and installation.

I had my builder phone the actual manufacturer of the transformer and get a price on just the transformer. It was not 50,000 baht. Not close. So we obtained written bids from two large electrical contractors from the provincial capital. One of the firms BCE is owned in part by a supervisor with the PEA office in the Provincial capital. The BCE trucks are former PEA trucks with the sign painted BCE. The same firm installs electric service to large retail, institutional, manufacturing, hospitality locations in our province. The price for the OVER 100 PARTS and labor with a written guarantee was 300,000 baht. Not cheap, but less than the PEA. My neighbor now has his wires installed on my poles, but those large poles can only take one more set of single phase wires.

The 45 page document request for 3 phase electric service from the BCE contractor to the PEA is VERY specific on what parts are used in the installation. IN ANY area of Thailand there must be larger electrical contractors who MIGHT quote a lower price than the PEA, but proper licensing, etc.. is crucial. Copies of various Thailand licenses and government documents were included in the application.

I have an older Expat friend who went to the same PEA office and they demanded he have 50 amp THREE phase transformer installed for his home. He paid over 300,000 baht and his cable was underground. They made him take out the original electric cable that his building contractor had charged him to install, since the PEA said that cable did not meet the PEA standards. However they kept the same 15 amp meter he had at the pole on the road when he first lived in a much smaller home on the property while his new house was being built. The PEA charged my friend last year for a "maintenance / servicing fee" of his transformer. The BCE boss looked at the letter we received from the PEA for that same "fee" and stated our particular model of transformer did not need that "servicing". Last month his 15 amp meter shorted out, there was a fire, most all his plugged in electrical items "fried" and the PEA is attempting to "blow him off". He now has repair/replacement bills of hundreds of thousands of baht due to an undersized meter. They did however immediately install for him the same model Mitsubishi 4 wire three phase MH 96 model 30 (100) amp electric meter that I have had installed by the PEA the same day BCE finished the three day installation the cables, poles, transformer, and a host of other items. On our transformer pole are Alstom surge arrestors, "U-Tah" Drop Fuse Cutout, "U-tah fuse switch" and a host of items that my expat friend did not have installed by the PEA near his transformer.

So for those who must have a larger capacity electric service it pays in the long run to look at ALL the items a contractor or the PEA is bidding to install. It is much more than a transformer in my experience. We never have power brown outs or surges in our home. Look at the price of buying several MONSTER or Panamax or Furman power conditioners / power centers in Thailand and the 300,000 will seem like a bargain. It really is not a bargain I was upset at having to spend that sort of money, but if you live "off the government road" you PAY for privacy. I don't regret it now, but it was a major strain at the time. I have met two other expats in Buriram province who were forced by the PEA to "take away" expensive electric service cable they had installed PRIOR to submitting an application to the PEA for PERMANENT electric service. Hard to believe by much of what we "see", but the PEA does have written regulations and standards they can enforce, often at your expense if you do not proceed "step by step" with the PEA.

Perhaps different PEA offices will have a different "policy" than our local PEA office T.I.T.

If you select a licensed electrical contractor for your 3 phase installation you still must pay the refundable deposit and POSTED installation hook up fees to the PEA. The major transformer brands sold in Thailand all have web sites with phone numbers and you can phone them for a price on the actual transformer.

[Rimmer]

There was a thread about purchasing a transformer on TV maybe one year back. The OP contacted the manufacturer in Bangkok and got prices to purchase direct, can't remember detail though, maybe it's still up on TV somewhere.

Yes elkangorito I was outside the distribution area about 1km up a dirt road. I did ask the question and was told that PEA had no plans to power my road this century.

Subsequently someone else came along and built four ugly houses then a developer who wanted to build a condo in the middle of Phoenix joined into my original line. Though not to my transformer.

I understand that even though I paid for the first 12 or so poles and 1 km of HT cables after three months they revert to PEA.

At the end of the day the cost got lost in the house build so am not unhappy at all about it.