Finding myself in an uncomfortable situation. Hope somebody can give advice.

Last Dec 16, the 3-phase meter outside my restaurant (it's a 3-story shophouse) exploded because of an internal malfunction.

MEA came almost immediately to bypass the burned meter and connect the house cables to the main electric braker directly with the street's 50mm cables.

Now, after 5 weeks and numerous useless calls, the new meter still hasnt been placed. Burned one is still there.

However, the electricity bill arrived, and MEA is asking me to pay for an amount which I understand is based on previous months' consumption.

The issue is that during the month of Dec 2014 we closed the restaurant for 1 week, and therefore the consumption is definitely lower that what I am asked to pay.

So my question is:

Is there anyway to pretend for the bill to be revised so that I am charged an amount closer to what I actually consumed?

Payment due date for the said bill is already overdue, and I have told them very clearly that I won't pay one baht until I see the new meter in place. To which they had to agree.

But if there was any chance not to pay an overlycharged bill based on retroactive consumptions it would be better.

Any thoughts? Thank you

If you previously closed the restaurant for 1 week, say in Dec 2013, use this as a basis for negotiation.

Negotiation is the only way. You will not succeed in a law suit which could take years and cost a fortune. MEA is a government organisation.

Good Luck

Similar happened to me although I have a house and not a business.

I paid the estimated bills gladly as I was sitting in lovely cool rooms for a month.

Are we talking a lot of money here as I doubt disputing it will achieve anything except making them pxssed off at you.

Thanks a lot to everyone for the replies and advice.

I am trying to negotiate a rebate on the bill as this seems to be the only fair solution.

Indeed getting against them would be completely useless and probably less productive.

So far they have agreed for me not to settle the bill until I see the new meter installed, as they had to admit that leaving us with a burned meter on the wall for more than a month doesnt make any sense.

Thank you again for your time.

You are wasting your time, they will. Ake you pay or simply cut your line. Lawsuit against them? Good luck.

You will only get more frustrated to try and sort things out the way you are requesting. How much money are we talking about?

It is possible that the new meter may take time to replace and in the mean-time they will continue to do more of the same and charge you about what you would normally pay. Since your electric usage is no longer on your own meter there is no way they or you can determine the exact usage.

I say, either you go to their office and discuss with the supervisor what the issues are or just pay it. But if you pay it make sure you get them to commit to a date that the new meter will be installed otherwise they may continue charging you the same every month and just take their time getting around to doing the work.

If all else fails, don't hold back... Turn-on and use all appliances, air-con units etc... And you might feel better knowing that no matter how much you use, you'll pay the same each month. Eventually it will get fixed and sorted out. In the mean-time you may have to pay a little extra. Live and learn. Remember, Thailand does things a bit different here. Good luck!

Crank the A/C down low and the stereo up. There are no usage fees until you get a new meter.

Thank you again all for all the replies.

Indeed right now rooms a very cool