Electricity Bills based on random number generator ?

[Na Fan]

Hi all

This is really starting to bother me. We've lived in the same village for 2 years now, and the monthly electricity USAGE (from our point of view) is always the same. There's two of us in a house, nothing changes in our daily routines (yeah I know, sounds boring - but I digress). So how come our monthly electricity bills vary like this:

2200 Baht

3400 Baht

6000 Baht

5600 Baht

4200 Baht

8000 Baht

2700 baht

etc etc

I've lived in lots of places where I paid my own bills (outside of Thailand) - and I never seen something like this. The cost was virtually the same every month, and varied AT MOST by 10%. What we get here seems absolutely random.

A basic rundown of what we use is this:

- Office room with aircon running about 16h / day

- Bed room with aircon running 8h / day

- No other rooms use aircon - never two rooms at once

- 1 personal computer and 1 laptop with a total of 4 screens are running, 16h / day.

- Two fridges, but we cook with gas. No large freezers.

- Couple light bulbs here and there

- No TV

And that's it. How on earth can that cause such enormous variations ???

And no, there's no neighbors plugging into our house's power cables - I checked!

We've already been down to the municipal electricity office and they said "you have to pay what you use - you use too much" - but of course their narrow minds can't comprehend that it's not a complaint about the usage - it's a complaint about the variations. So that led us absolutely nowhere.

Am I alone with this or is this a common thing ?

Na Fan

[ChaangNoi]

What type of aircon unit do you have? Some of them can just eat electric. Also when you had a bill of 8000 was it really hot and when you had a bill of 2200 the aircon did not need much work?

If you have really old out of date aircon units that will be your biggest cost and really you might want to think about getting newer versions.

[Soutpeel]

so how many of those are billed on estimated usage and how many are on actual units used ?

that could be the reason, some monthly bills are estimated and typically "padded"

see this in my bills and that's what it is

[attrayant]

Best thing to do is learn how to read your meter and compare it with what the bill says when it arrives. Sometimes they do an estimated bill if they can't get around to doing an on-site reading, but that estimate should be based in historical usage and trends so it should look like a typical bill.

[attrayant]

so how many of those are billed on estimated usage and how many are on actual units used ?

that could be the reason, some monthly bills are estimated and typically "padded"

see this in my bills and that's what it is

Estimating is fine, but the next time they make it out there and do an actual reading, everything should be set right again. If the most recent bill was an actual reading, the average of the seven months reported above is 4,586 baht per month. OP, does that sound acceptable to you as a monthly average?

[h90]

Read your meter frequently.

They may sometimes estimate and balance it next time they read it. But even that can't explain the difference between 2200 and 8000.

Or maybe sometimes you didn't pay and it is the fee of 2 months?

[Soutpeel]

Best thing to do is learn how to read your meter and compare it with what the bill says when it arrives. Sometimes they do an estimated bill if they can't get around to doing an on-site reading, but that estimate should be based in historical usage and trends so it should look like a typical bill.

Well to be honest they do seem to pad out the estimated bills quite a bit, at the end of the day its 6 of one hlaf a dozen of another, over 12 months it all evens out

[tartempion]

Check your meter every day and write it down, then compare with your bill.

Understand each day's consumption.

[colinneil]

Check your appliancies.

We were getting higher than normal bills, so closed everything, then opened again checking meter at same time.

We found 1 fridge was working non stop, easy unplugged fridge, problem solved.

[Na Fan]

Still seems high doesn't it - 4500 Baht a month (if you average it out) - for what we use ? This is just two people here.

We did pay the bills each month (they turn off the power within a week if you don't pay the current bill around here - probably anxious to charge the 500 Baht to turn it back on).

If they are doing such "padding" that should be clearly visible on the bill, right ?

[h90]

Check your appliancies.

We were getting higher than normal bills, so closed everything, then opened again checking meter at same time.

We found 1 fridge was working non stop, easy unplugged fridge, problem solved.

good idea...same for aircons which needs service (blocked or no gas) or aircons set to 18 degree instead of 25 with someone open the window when it gets too cold (sounds stupid but happens).

But that would still make an even high bill, not that fluctuation.

[Soutpeel]

Still seems high doesn't it - 4500 Baht a month (if you average it out) - for what we use ? This is just two people here.

We did pay the bills each month (they turn off the power within a week if you don't pay the current bill around here - probably anxious to charge the 500 Baht to turn it back on).

If they are doing such "padding" that should be clearly visible on the bill, right ?

THB 3000 to THB 4500 is my average bill and there are only two of us

no the "padding" on the bill is not marked it just an over estimate of what they think you have used that month if they haven't read the meter and things are adjusted on the next bills once they read off the actual units used

[Na Fan]

I just did the math.

Last 12 months were: 8017.56, 8119.96, 5610.32, 5986.6 ,5753.9 ,4516.94 ,5273.75 ,5719.71 ,5150.01 ,2748.22, 3285.73 and 5048.4

So that rolls in a total of 65'231.10 Baht. Or a monthly average of 5435.93 Baht.

[MartinL]

I keep detailed records of electricity usage - average consumption/day, average cost/day & average cost/kWh on a monthly basis - and always check bill against meter. Never had an estimated bill.

There are 2 of us in a not-very-big 3-bed house.

Our base usage - no a/c - occurs in December/January & January/February and includes daily use that is pretty constant throughout the year; lighting, washing, fridge, TV etc. The only variable is a/c, which is usually used at night in one bedroom only at about 25C, occasionally in the living room.

In Feb/Mar, usage shoots up as the temperatures rise rapidly, peaking in April/May then falling month by month back to the base load in December/January. This year the Feb/Mar bill was 2x Jan/Feb, similar in previous years.

This pattern has been the same over the years. Costs range from 1230฿ this Jan/Feb to 3400฿ in Apr/May. Highest bill roughly 3x the lowest.

Bills not as high as yours but maybe a similar pattern????

BTW, cost has been about 4.5฿/kWh over the past 15 months.

Edited March 20, 2015 by MartinL

[CharlieH]

The other check, just to ensure its all yours, switch everything off, then go see if the meter is still turning etc. Could mean someone else has tapped into your supply.

Average for me is 2500, highest point (songkran heat) 4,200, 3 air con units

[KhunBENQ]

We have a similar pattern as described by @MartinL (#14).

Lowest bill I remember was below 1000 Baht in "winter" (aircon not running at all).

Highest about 2700 (only one aircon running for 8h in the night and maybe 4h during the afternoon).

Temperature set very carefully, just to feel comfortable with no need to dress up

Almost always aircon is THE number one power consumer.

If you doubt the bill there is no way around checking the meter, which requires a measurement device to compare.

Edited March 21, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[chrisinth]

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I just did the math.

Last 12 months were: 8017.56, 8119.96, 5610.32, 5986.6 ,5753.9 ,4516.94 ,5273.75 ,5719.71 ,5150.01 ,2748.22, 3285.73 and 5048.4

So that rolls in a total of 65'231.10 Baht. Or a monthly average of 5435.93 Baht.

To be honest, that does seem to be very high usage, if it is actual usage and not estimation.

What would help is:

What size of house do you live in?

What size are your aircons, ie, are they sized correctly for the areas in which they are used?

How old are the aircon units?

Do you use a water pump and what is your water bill in relation to your electricity?

how many electric showers do you have and are they properly earthed?

My electricity bill would average out at about 4,500 baht a month in a four bedroomed house. The items below are obviously not all run at the same time, but are used most days to differing levels, but the house consists of:

5 x aircons

4 x desktop computers

4 x notebooks

Multiple smartphones & tablets being charged

1 x chest freezer

3 x standup fridges

Multiple lighting over 5 zones

6 x various (16/18/20 inch) fans

1 x well pump

2 x water heaters (shower units)

1 x water heater (for necessary caffeine intake)

1 x microwave

Most cooking done by gas

We do get the meter read every month as far as I'm aware, the usage is never estimated. Hope that helps as a comparison.

[kannot]

1 aircon 2 fridges few lights inside outside 10w leds as security lights, hot season aircon on 24/7 2200 cool season 1500 last month 1600 hot season just starting now

1 water heater 1 well pump but theres only me here

Edited March 21, 2015 by kannot

[Aussieroaming]

Check the fridge seals as well...bad seals lead to high power consumption.

[Rooo]

Moved to housing forum.

[IMHO]

Still seems high doesn't it - 4500 Baht a month (if you average it out) - for what we use ? This is just two people here.

You haven't mentioned what size the AC's are, but for two fridges, a desktop PC with 4 screens (which is sure to be a power hog), 24/7 AC running, and assuming you probably also use lights and take showers, 4500 actually sounds like it's in the ballpark.

There is also a HUGE variance in power usage between different models of refrigerators and ACs... A 10yo "5 star" AC would use over double the electricity of a current-model inverter AC with the same cooling capacity. The same goes for refrigerators - I have a small 5 cu ft bar fridge that consumes the same electricity as a 21cu ft inverter fridge, for example.

Edited March 22, 2015 by IMHO

[NoshowJones]

What type of aircon unit do you have? Some of them can just eat electric. Also when you had a bill of 8000 was it really hot and when you had a bill of 2200 the aircon did not need much work?

If you have really old out of date aircon units that will be your biggest cost and really you might want to think about getting newer versions.

What is an old out of date AC unit?, I could ask what the average age of an AC unit is, but how long is a piece of string?

I have a nine year old AC unit in the bedroom, and a 6 month old AC unit in my personal room.

[Pib]

Like many have said already, just begin taking frequent readings of your meter. That will quickly tell you what you are actually using and if your monthly electric bill is actual or some average. I'm going to assume you do not have your electric service billed directly from the electric company but instead the landlord bills you which means the landlord is doing the calculation possibly split/averaged among other tenants.

But regardless, actually monitoring your meter frequently will tell you if the usage is actual or estimated/averaged. And for anyone using A/C, your A/C(s) during the hot months can make a big percentage difference/increase in your electric bill during the hot months compared to the cooler months even when the A/Cs are working perfectly fine.

[chrisinth]

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What type of aircon unit do you have? Some of them can just eat electric. Also when you had a bill of 8000 was it really hot and when you had a bill of 2200 the aircon did not need much work?

If you have really old out of date aircon units that will be your biggest cost and really you might want to think about getting newer versions.

What is an old out of date AC unit?, I could ask what the average age of an AC unit is, but how long is a piece of string?

I have a nine year old AC unit in the bedroom, and a 6 month old AC unit in my personal room.

Perhaps 'power friendly' instead of 'out of date' would have been a better phrase. As technology advances, so does power efficiency.

Your aircons may be working fine, properly maintained, there is no reason why an aircon unit can't function properly at 9 years old, but the difference between a 9 yo aircon and a 6 month old one would most definitely be power consumption (and probably noise).

If your two units are of the same BTU value, it might be a good exercise to compare the usage between the two.

Might be surprising.................

[trogers]

First question - does the cumulative meter reading on the bill tally with that shown on the meter?

If not, problem is in meter reading and estimations.

If yes, you need to investigate the spikes in electrical consumption. First, any illegal tapping? Second, those large wattage equipment, esp those running long hours.

[BudRight]

I remember something about a different price if you exceed a certain amount of usage each month. If you exceed that threshold it could account for the 8000 baht outlier and the rest could be temperature variation.