Reconnecting Electricity On My Condo (For Only A Week)

[BodhiBum]

I'd like to know how everyone else who owns a condo but only gets to use it a few weeks a year handles their electricity. I initially had electricity connected a few years back when I was living there, but when I left I didn't pay the bill and it got disconnected. Now I am returning again after a few years and want to use my condo for a weeks holiday so need to get the electricity reconnected. But I am only there for a week and won't be returning for probably another year. So I don't want to keep paying for electricity for all that time I'm not there. So I have a few questions:

1) If I reconnect the electricity, will there be an electricity bill arrive every subsequent month if I'm not there and not using any power?

2) If so, should I just reconnect it and use it for the week and then let them disconnect it again when I don't pay the next months bill?

3) Or should I go to the Electricity Authority at the end of my week holiday and have it disconnected? Then reconnect and disconnect every time I return?

4) How about a direct debit? Is this the way to go?

5) Am I completely missing the boat here and it's all less complicated that this? If so, please enlighten.

If it matters, my condo is in Jomtien.

The majority of condo owners must be in my shoes, only using their condo a few weeks or months a year. So there must be an easy way to keep the power on for every time you return, and not waste money on electricity when you're not there. Any help and info is greatly appreciated.

Bodhi

[BKKdreaming]

extension cord ?

If the unit next to you has people in it , offer them too much money to run a few extension cords over the balcony

OK....thats how I would do it, if I only have a couple weeks I would not want to spend time turning it on and off,

It will be interesting what better answers you get......

BK

[Spoonman]

is the electric paid direvtly PEA or the condo manager ??

Eitherway I would get it connected and try to sort a way to pay the bill when you not there, when you leave literally un plug everything from the power sockets and the bill should be next to zero anyways.

[trogers]

is the electric paid direvtly PEA or the condo manager ??

Eitherway I would get it connected and try to sort a way to pay the bill when you not there, when you leave literally un plug everything from the power sockets and the bill should be next to zero anyways.

Open a bank account and arrange direct debit, while at the same time empty and clean the fridge and turn off power at the mains when you leave.

Note, bank account should have a balance of at least Bt2000 to keep it alive.

[sarahsbloke]

extension cord ?

If the unit next to you has people in it , offer them too much money to run a few extension cords over the balcony

OK....thats how I would do it, if I only have a couple weeks I would not want to spend time turning it on and off,

It will be interesting what better answers you get......

BK

I thought the same as you!

[PattayaParent]

I guess you'll be having the same problems with water and telephone as well as electric?

1. You can arrange a direct debit through your bank to pay utilities.

2. You can get a neighbour or the condo management to pay the bills.

3. You can pay a management service fee to an estate agent to collect and pay the bills every month.

[briley]

Electricity is free if you don't use any. Sort of sound an oxymoron but there are no standing charges.

It does take a while to set up a direct debit, you can prepay your electricity - leave them with a few hundred a month advance?

[trogers]

Electricity is free if you don't use any. Sort of sound an oxymoron but there are no standing charges.

It does take a while to set up a direct debit, you can prepay your electricity - leave them with a few hundred a month advance?

I think the problem is that the date for reading the meter and sending the bill will most probably be after the OP has left Thailand. And govt depts do not have any mechanism to accept advance payments. Tried that with the revenue dept and they turned me down...

Best is to take some time off in the coming trip to arrange for debit payments. This would also allow future payments of electricity should friends or relatives of the OP use the condo unit in his absence. Advance payments can be made for water which is billed directly by the juristic office of the condo.

[BKKdreaming]

OK.....you can rent the condo to me for 100 baht a month and I will keep the lights and water paid up,

when you come to town I will have the beer cold for you and move out for that week or 2 ,

Let me know where to send my rent payment !

BK

[BodhiBum]

Thanks for the oh so generous offer, BKKdreaming. The thought of my condo sitting cold and empty for going on three years now does break my heart a little. But not enough to let you keep it warm, and my beer cold. Thx anyways.

I think the crux of my question was partly what briley said. Do you get charges for electricity just to be connected even if you're not using it. If there are no standing charges as you say, then that makes all the difference. Even small monthly bills all add up to significant money when you're talking years. After a while you start to wonder what is the point of owning a condo when you spend more per year to just have it sit there than you would spend on lavish hotels if you just rented when you were there.

Trogers hit the nail as well. The bill won't come until after I've left, so I really guess I don't have much choice other than to do a direct debit setup with the electricity authority. Short of bribing someone at my condo to pay my bills, I'd rather be able to control my own payments. So that's what I'll do. And like you said, going forward it will be available if my friends or family want to stop in and use it, without having to worry about getting the power turned back on.

Thanks for the input guys. Truly appreciated.

Bodhi

[rak sa_ngop]

I have just checked my electricity bill and the current maintainance charge is 40.90 baht a month plus VAT at 7 pc.

Last year the government introduced free electricity for low users/poor families. This was based on the billed number of units and I believe that everybody (incl farangs) were granted this automatically. Is this scheme still in place? I do not know.

Setting up a direct debit is the obvious soltion, but for some utilities it takes several months to complete the process, so you may receive a final bill to be paid yourself after you have departed. Surely your condo managment, who probably put the bills into your mailbox, can help with this.

Good luck

PS My offer is 200 baht a month!

[briley]

Yep - I have just got back after 6 months away - all my electricity bills were zero (actually didn't get them). You don't pay the standing charge if you use under a certain amount of KwH, think it was 100 but I don't know.

I've just checked back. Setting up a standing order for PEA in Chiang Mai from Bangkok Bank was done straight away and the next bill was paid direct from the bank.

Setting it up for TOT took 3 months. In the end I paid 4,000 baht in an advanced payment and they slowly used that to pay my bills each month ie each month the bill had a reducing credit. Then went over to claiming the money from the bank.

I believe you can pay the electricity bill in advance in the same way. Obviously not at 7-eleven but at the electricity company office.

[rotary]

I have a condo in Nontaburi and a house near Korat. Both are set up for the electric companies to debit my bank account. We leave the fridges on at both condo and house. Electric bills run about 100 Baht per month but I have not checked the exact amount in several months so maybe this "FREE ELECTRIC"thing makes it cheaper. It is a bit of hassle to get it started but after almost 5 years no problems.

[ya5702]

Oops! The last line should read 90 KWH, not 90 KW.

Consider doing viz:

1. Make advance payments in cash at MEA (Metropolitan Electricity Authority) every time you visit Thailand. Maintain a positve balance of say THB3,000, or an amount equivalent to the average monthly power usage x the average months of absence from Thailand.

2. At the MCB (Main Circuit Board) flip OFF all switches which are not used during your absence, save the switch for the refrigerator (or flip this OFF too if you have no beers in it.)

3. You should not have any outstanding power bill to pay (till December 31, 2010, that is) since the fridge does not consume more than 90KWH power per month.

Edited November 8, 2010 by ya5702