Pea Poles On My Land For Electricity

[haveaniceday]

I asking if anyone has had experience putting in poles for electricity cables to be hung from.

We have about 130m from the street to the corner of the house, not really effecting this post, I do hope to put the last 50m underground, but lets assume right now that I don't and run 130m of hanging cable.

I have been told of some "stories" where the PEA charged a small fortune to install the post and it is massively cheaper and actually a better job getting a private contractor to do it. Most of the post around here are leaning over and not very deep in the ground, if I had them done my self I could get them put in deeper, and possibly put in the same day when the post ramming machine rams post down for the house foundations or at least get the holes dug deep when the makro (excavator) is next onsite. ( We can get a makro cheaply ).

My wife says that only the PEA can put the post in, this is backed up by my mother in law who is clue less where I think the thought probably originated from. I question this of course that the PEA has a monopoly over post on my property.

When they first put in ta temp electricity supply hanging of trees and wooden post, do you need a construction that has had plans approved? I was thinking building s small storage shed for tools and a small work shop with a power saw etc, so I didn't have to cart things back and forth like a little generator. And it would be handy for workmen when house construction starts late in the year. I am talking 4m X 5M that I will knock down after the house is constructed. Maybe use some materials later like the roofing somewhere.

This temp power supply, is that the one that is double the price of regular?

I am thinking, if I have a little shed and get proper electricity put in before the house is even constructed, then all the better.

Can a private contractor do this and avoid the PEA extortion I have heard about?

Thanks

[InterestedObserver]

PEA only control things up to the meter, from the meter onward you are in charge - especially on your property.

[kamalabob2]

The PEA can install house service cables underground in proper correct conduit. A private contractor can do the same. The PEA does NOT control the poles or cables I used (and paid for) from a "Government Road, down a privately owned access road to my wife's plot of land. However the licensed Electrical contractor submitted proper electrical plans for the poles, cables, all the bits and pieces to the PEA for approval. The meter is on my wife's plot of land behind a fence and the PEA billing person must ring our bell to come onto her land to read the meter. I only went with above ground poles due to the total cost in our particular situation, but proper HDPE conduit and NYY cable of the proper sizes are certainly available in every ELECTRICAL supply shop, and will be approved by the local PEA office, even in a small up country town. We had a different electrical team run the power from a pole near our driveway into our home. That same "moon lighting" team who worked for a major licensed electrical contractor did all of the inside the house wiring to proper specifications.

They may have dropped the ball in terms of what cables and conduit for the front gate light and doorbell wires as that wiring was NOT on the electrical plans submitted to the PEA or the "permit to build" Government department. They used yellow conduit for outside and under the ground and did not initially use NYY cables. I was none the wiser until the breakers tripped. That was resolved on July 4th. As the owner of the Buriram electrical supply shop said "This is what most Thai people use (yellow conduit, various electrical and door bell wires) but this is what you SHOULD use (NYY cables and HDPE conduit) for under the ground". The PEA has actual specification guidelines they are supposed to enforce.

The PEA was involved (and paid by me) last August to rid my pole on the private access road of a large wasp nest. The local Government staff was also involved (and paid by me) in that night time project. The PEA had to be involved since they had to turn off and turn back on our electrical service and several neighbors electrical service. The PEA and local government both provided trucks for the procedure. No one provided a bee keeper suit. The total cost was nominal and could have had deadly and/or expensive consequences if a mistake was made by non qualified staff.

Like many dealings in Thailand, often the first person will say "no can not do", when they are too lazy or not experienced with the True options to your question or request. Similar to the floor stocking clerk at BigC or Tesco saying they are out of stock of an advertised item, you show them the item in a newspaper advertisement. Then the store manager can bark some orders and the staff somehow find exactly what you asked the clerk for in the advertisement. It was not out of stock, the clerk was too lazy to go to the back room and get the box. All too often easier to say NO for some people.

[Gonsalviz]

I paid PEA (a lot of money) to run poles and wire with a transformer about 2 km from the nearest road. It comes to the front of the property. Apparently included in this deal, was smaller poles and cables to a meter running about 100 m to the house site.

Of course with the looks of wiring in Thailand I did not want this last run to the house but my wife says it is all they will do.

It will be interesting when I hire a private contractor to install a conduit and have the PEA poles and wiring removed.

[electau]

The PEA/MEA is responsible for they poles and network up to the point of connection to your electrical installation. In Thailand this is usually at the metering point of your electrical installation. After that point the consumers mains, mains switchboard and installation wiring is your responsiblility. You can run the consumers mains overhead or as an underground configuration to the main switchboard. Remember the voltage drop requirements over 130meters. To calculate this you will need to know your max demand in amps.

　

What where the terms stated in the original supply contract with the PEA?

[haveaniceday]

We don't have any agreement from the PEA as we don't have any power yet.

I would like to get the poled put in when the post for the foundations get put in and all be done at once.

Wifie says it has to be done after the house is finished & can only be installed by PEA she doesn't know and I got fed more BS from Mother in law..... who was probably told by a ghost

So basically I need the load for the house sorted out, an electrical contractor involved to get stuff approved before we get the pole ramming machine & Makro to come on site.

[haveaniceday]

The PEA/MEA is responsible for they poles and network up to the point of connection to your electrical installation.

You mean the meter that is normally on the pole near the road right?

Or the house 130 away ?

[Crossy]

The PEA/MEA is responsible for they poles and network up to the point of connection to your electrical installation.

You mean the meter that is normally on the pole near the road right?

Or the house 130 away ?

The meter, PEA responsibility stops there, anything your side of the meter is your problem.

[katabeachbum]

PEA can do poles/high voltage/transformer/ consumer voltage in private properties, like most Moo Baans are.

Phuket PEA did our system in 2006. They offered 2 prices. One if it would remain privately owned/controlled. One if they could use the high voltage part later. Approx half the price for latter. This was before anything built, and we had to sign for later use of system and land covered.

We chose a system where PEA ended its work half way down the road where we positioned trafo and all electric meters, and then each house its own underground cables, up to 120 meters from meters

If I would do it again, I would choose one huge meter at trafo, and common underground cables with each house one private meter, to be paid to common electric account

[haveaniceday]

Crossy in post #8 said: "The meter, PEA responsibility stops there, anything your side of the meter is your problem."

I am yet to have the pleasure of dealing with the PEA incompetence, hopefully next week I get another dose of frustration, ......... if I am lucky, maybe I will only get a rash !!! LOL

There is talk from our local gurus that the PEA have to inspect our wiring, anyone know what this is about? Is it yet another bribe time?

[kamalabob2]

If you have "temporary electricity" and are near completion of your home and desire to pay normal lower electric prices then a "permanent meter" is in order. In our case we were able to run "temporary" electric wires on our neighbors privately owned utility posts. We bought six large poles from a private licensed contractor due to regulations for 3 phase power. The smaller poles would not be safe for 3 phase and would not ever be approved by the PEA. The smaller poles were later removed.

It is very possible to have the PEA meter on your residential property on the very last pole away FROM the street, and not anywhere near the street. It was a normal detail for the licensed electrical contractor to include the location of the PEA meter on his written plans that were approved. Each month the PEA meter reader rings our front gate bell, comes onto our property and opens the door of the meter housing to read the meter. He writes down the number and I look and also write down the same number. I then know each month how many units we have used. The bill arrives in person about five days later.

In our case we already had an approved electric plan indicated on the "Permit to Build", the PEA had already seen that approved plan and it was a ten minute visit to our almost completed home by a PEA staff person to sign off the form I used to have the PEA account in my name. Never once was a bribe even mentioned by anyone at the PEA office. However we were "papered up" in terms of using a licensed electrical contractor and having paid for the "permit to build". No jive about any placement of electric sockets, no delay what so ever. The "road" in the attached photos is owned by a neighbor, it NOT a public road, is not my wife's land. The large poles I had a private contractor install, the smaller poles were later removed. I however have the responsibility of the poles and wires all the way from our home to the Government road, including removal of any WASP nests. The orange utility truck and the working crew are NOT PEA staff, they are employees of a local licensed electrical contractor. I was grateful the PEA did any level of an inspection as that was a RARE part of the construction process.

[haveaniceday]

By the looks of it, all good and no indication of bribes at this point.

The contractor taking care of it. He is running 4 X 50mm Alloy cables as the route will be just over 150m to the house.

7 X 6m post put in and wires hung and the paper work done is 37,000b plus 7000b for a temp 5(15) Amp single phase meter.

When the house has a blue book we will put in a 15(45) meter and hope that is enough.