How Much Too High Is This Price?

[oobar]

My wife and I, both expats, have been living in Thailand for 27 years and have long been aware of the always-lurking "farang price," which often bears little resemblence to anything realistic. We have built a house larger than we need, with eight air conditioners, and our electrical supply, through two 15/45 amp meters, is woefullly inadequate. The supply comes no where near delivering that kind of amperage. The cost we have been given for our portion of approximately one km of poles and wires from another source, plus a 50 amp transformer hooked up to our mains, is 570,000 baht. We are working on getting a better understanding of the details involved in this amount, but we are also rushed as the rainy season is upon us here (Sisaket), and putting power poles into muck can be a problem.

Has anyone out there had any experience that might help us determine if this price is absurd, high, or anywhere near being reasonable?

570,000 Baht. Sheeeeeee. . . . the house is already over budget.

[cornishcarlos]

Do you need all the AC units on together..!!!

[Costas2008]

I don't believe that in your situation "farang" price applies.

If, you were quoted that from the electricity board......that is the price anybody else will pay.....Thai or farang.

Are you building a house or a hotel?

Good Luck to you and your wife.

[oobar]

Of course we would rarely, if ever, run all eight air conditioners, but I'd like to have the option to do so. Right now, we don't have enough supply to safely run even one, as their are other drains as well. We're really only interested in price reaction, because we must have a new supply run to us from the the main road at the nearest village.

[oobar]

The electricity folks use jobbers, individuals, so this quote is more likely to be high, especially since he is so willing to have us "cue jump" and get serviced right away.

[Jip99]

I paid 220,000 baht for a transformer and 3 poles.

I also paid for 6 smaller poles + cabling to run 250 metres from just inside our property to the house.

[Issangeorge]

11 years ago it cost me ฿3,000 for one pole. I figure for 1,000 metres you will need about 34 poles, so that's ฿100,000 plus the wires and transformer, and add in inflation and your price seems reasonable. Check with the electric company, I believe that if somebody piggybacks off your wires and poles, you are entitled to compensation. But for that money I would check into a solar or wind system and a back up generator to supply the extra energy when you need it. Maybe just the backup generator which you could do for 10% to 20% of what the poles and wires would cost. Plus I can tell you from experience, in Isaan the power goes off on a frequent bases and sometimes for a couple of hours at a time.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[oobar]

We designed our house with solar in mind, but Thailand's bureaucracy still needs a couple of years, as do businesses that install the entire systems, to get things competitive and convenient. We don't need a back-up system. We need an adequate main system that we can back up later.

[Gonsalviz]

I do believe it matters where you live but I paid 300,000 for a new line run 2 km,transformer and meter to my house that is 100 meters off the dirt road.

[farang62]

That price is at or below average.

We do these surveys and deal with the Electric people every day.

If you want a proper electrical supply this is the way to go.

Make sure the transformer you buy with the installation is on a pole that is on your property.

Than no one else can connect to YOUR transformer.

Yes, the price of wire, transformers , poles are up 40% from a few years ago.

[jayci]

What you need 8 air conditioners for. Shouldn't need any if you design your house properly.

[thrilled]

When I sleep I use 1. When I'm awake I have 1 in the living room.I turn that one on and turn the one in the bedroom off.

[Rdrokit]

If I needed 8 a/c units I would have designed my house for central air and had one unit doing all the work. The price seems fair for what you are getting.

[brimacthai]

The mains supply for our new "commercial town house" was only 15 amps. We had 32 amps put in after much gnashing of teeth with the builder/developer. The extra cost for us was 25K Baht including the larger meter and mains cables into the house to handle the 32 amps.

Since then all our neighbors have had to upgrade their mains as well. Most of them are being quoted around 40K Baht.

Why a developer would build a 300 plus m2 commercial town house (shop-house I think they are called) and only provide 15 amp power supply is beyond reason.

[kerrysum]

Whew, 8 air conditioners, that one certainly blows my mind..... To mind it one or two things that come to mind, either you over built with poor or little planning, or you didn't know what you were doing when you planned your house... Most Thai homes, have two at the most from what I know.... Or maybe someone has tapped into your line, happened many years go from my experience... Neighbors tapped into our line, to save money.... Just a thought... Do not know what part Thailand you live in... I saw some pretty logical explanations, from prior posts......

[Suradit69]

The electricity folks use jobbers, individuals, so this quote is more likely to be high, especially since he is so willing to have us "cue jump" and get serviced right away.

"...to have us "cue jump" ..."

Were you playing snooker with him at the time?

[TravelerEastWest]

Your price sounds fair based on a recent quote we received from the electric company for a 3 phase transformer with wire around 1km away.

Why do you have two meters?

I was told that in our situation two meters would not help much at all as the amount of power on our road is limited and every new meter shares in it.

We have children and family that visits so we have 8+ air conditioners, 3 hot water heaters etc. We have a 3 phase 15/45 connection as I recall. At first we didn't have enough power but then we balanced the power to where we needed it the most and we are doing much better - almost OK.

[cracker1]

I am not sure what you should expect to pay but of further concern to you is the info that follows:

A few years ago I looked at a block of land in Samui that needed the power supply be extended to it.

I was informed by the PEA that I would have sole use of the extended lines for two years and after that any

other properties these lines passed could connect to them and draw their own supply. If you are the end of the line

and many customers draw before you then obviously you will received a reduced amperage.

Suggest you discuss this aspect with your supplier. Also you may have the opportunity of discussing with

any other property owners your lines may pass, the possibility of sharing the costs of installation ?

[ggt]

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Of course we would rarely, if ever, run all eight air conditioners, but I'd like to have the option to do so. Right now, we don't have enough supply to safely run even one, as their are other drains as well. We're really only interested in price reaction, because we must have a new supply run to us from the the main road at the nearest village.

If it is a 2 story house...you can likely get buy with fans on the bottom floor...if you are determined to use 8 air conditioners...then pay the 500K baht and enjoy you stay...

[garyinhuahin]

It seems you were given a fair quote. Sorry it's higher than you want to pay and you think you're being picked on as a Farang.

Electricity is one of the things that's not so cheap and plentiful here. I recommend you swallow it and buy the service you feel you need.

[crazykopite]

That price sounds about right you could go with a solar system but a good one in Thailand would cost a million baht and as electricity is so cheap you would be dead before you got your money back do not understand why you need so many air cons when just you and your wife would be a lot cheaper with good ceiling fans installed as well as being more Eco friendly

[CMCMANGOMAN]

My price was 400,000 baht. That was a 30 amp transformer and platform erected on MY PROPERTY. It included 5 poles on the street. Here's the rub, as long as the new transformer in pn your side of the line then no other property or person may piggyback off your new power supply.

Option number two was place the new transformer on the public road side and share the cost with the utility company. That quote was for 150,000 baht. I turned them down flat and we opted for a private company to do our 30 amp transformer, platform and meter hook up on our side of the line. The drawbacks are a few. The power still goes out every time a soi dog pisses on a power pole and there is the eyesore a transformer and platform presents at the front of the property. Also, it makes some neighbors jealous.

Your price only sounds correct if the 50 amp meter is yours and your alone. If not, you're getting ripped off. Don't pay extra for everyone else.

[Emster23]

How high is too high a price? When it is more than you are willing to pay.

Here is a way you can save big $$$. Get used to the climate, use fans. Take a few weeks, but you can adapt. Also will give the freedom of feeling like you don't have to live in air con bubble. You can actually go outside and stay there in comfort! Leave a smaller carbon footprint so maybe your kids will have a world to live in when you are gone.

The amount of power used here to turn malls, theaters, homes, 7-11s into walk in freezers is substantial. I can't be in those places for long. Just too damn cold. I am from NW USA, and grew up in less than tropical climate.

[Paulzed]

I paid 8500 Baht per pole and 800 baht per meter of aluminium core power cable and 1000 baht for two guys from the power company to connect it all up (including fitting the poles) to the house and power meter

The power meter was 450 baht

[oobar]

If I had to pay 800 baht per meter of aluminum cable, that would be 800 thousand baht for the wire alone. Add the other expenses, transformer and poles, and I'm way up over a million baht. This is beginning to make B570,000 seem like a bargain.

[oobar]

After 27 years in Thailand, we are well associated with the climate here. We are also from southern Arkansas, where the summer temp and humidity can match anything Thailand will throw at you, plus a bit more, like dozens of tornadoes yearly.

This is not a Thai style house and is not intended to be. I have not seen any Thai houses with foot-thick double walls that sandwich 4 inches of foam between them. Fine if some people like sweating at their computer and having their paper come limp from the printer. We prefer to control our inside environment, which includes being able to open forty louvered windows of Australian design whenever we want the outside to come in. The transformer will be ours alone.

Edited June 14, 2014 by oobar

[oobar]

It seems you were given a fair quote. Sorry it's higher than you want to pay and you think you're being picked on as a Farang.

Electricity is one of the things that's not so cheap and plentiful here. I recommend you swallow it and buy the service you feel you need.

Getting closer to swallowing. Hope we don't choke.

[oobar]

The electricity folks use jobbers, individuals, so this quote is more likely to be high, especially since he is so willing to have us "cue jump" and get serviced right away.

"...to have us "cue jump" ..."

Were you playing snooker with him at the time?

Ummmm, I was actually in a queue to get a cue to play a little 8-ball with him, and I got confused.

[bluesofa]

After 27 years in Thailand, we are well associated with the climate here. We are also from southern Arkansas, where the summer temp and humidity can match anything Thailand will throw at you, plus a bit more, like dozens of tornadoes yearly.

This is not a Thai style house and is not intended to be. I have not seen any Thai houses with foot-thick double walls that sandwich 4 inches of foam between them. Fine if some people like sweating at their computer and having their paper come limp from the printer. We prefer to control our inside environment, which includes being able to open forty louvered windows of Australian design whenever we want the outside to come in. The transformer will be ours alone.HouseE.jpg

I was following the post re the OP subject of the price for the electricity supply.

But you've sidetracked me completely now having seen the photo of your house - wow, pretty impressive!

[ericthai]

11 years ago it cost me ฿3,000 for one pole. I figure for 1,000 metres you will need about 34 poles, so that's ฿100,000 plus the wires and transformer, and add in inflation and your price seems reasonable. Check with the electric company, I believe that if somebody piggybacks off your wires and poles, you are entitled to compensation. But for that money I would check into a solar or wind system and a back up generator to supply the extra energy when you need it. Maybe just the backup generator which you could do for 10% to 20% of what the poles and wires would cost. Plus I can tell you from experience, in Isaan the power goes off on a frequent bases and sometimes for a couple of hours at a time.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I dont think they will allow you to charge if someone else uses the poles transformer. I wanted internet at my house. There where no phone lines in our village so they would need to run a line. I was told 50,000B for a new line into our village. I asked then is this mine and if anyone else wants internet I will get paid a fee each month for the use of the line/pole. I was told no it still would belong to the phone company.

As for the cost of the transformer that seems about right. I needed 3 phase to my factory the cost for the transformer, new lines etc was about the same.