Energy Bill in Udon Thani

[coolhand53089]

Hi, my wife and I are staying in a studio apartment in Udon Thani. I'm just trying to get some feedback about my energy bill for the month, because it seems way too high.

We had to pay 4,000b for our energy after our first month in this place. I don't get it, this seems incredibly high compared to where I've been before and everyone that hears about it seems to agree 4,000b is way too high.

It's a studio apartment. Not big. Rent is 3,500b. So the power bill is more than the rent - which obviously came as a very unpleasant surprise. We're not doing anything out of the ordinary or extravagant with our power usage. We run the AC at all times, but it's not like it's cold or anything. We keep it at a reasonable temperature. Other than that, we don't use the lights that often, and we run a laptop an iPad and 2 cel phones.

So I don't get why it's 4,000b for the energy/power bill. Like I said that's more than the rent costs.

I really am feeling that I am getting f***ed over here, that these people are just giving me the "farang price."

But please give me some feedback on this and let me know how wrong or right this sounds to you. Thanks.

[JoePai]

Check how much you are being charged per Unit of electric - many places inflate the cost. Also keeping the AC on all time(?) can be expensive especially of it is an older unit.

[coolhand53089]

Alright, I did the math and I am being charged 7 baht per unit of electricity. How does this sound to you? Any idea what the normal rate is?

[kamalabob2]

7 baht is what I agreed in advance to pay for the "room" that our Daughter rents while she attends University. Water price is another "earner" for the landlord. Each room where my Daughter lives has a private meter, bought at any electric shop.

[inzman]

That's the usual rental rate. Govt rate is 4. Turn off main to check nobody else is using your electric. Keep your AC on 28.

[zaZa9]

I guffawed at the price of 4,000 a month , but when you said you run the a/c 24/7 it sounds about right.

I run a small house with 3 fans going constantly , 2 fridges ( plus water pump ) - otherwise all is 'normal'.

In Phuket in killer hot April when we run a/c maybe 14 hours a day ( in 1 big bedroom ) our bill is about 2500 baht.

Normally , like now when a/c is used on the occassional night only , our bill is about 1100 baht.

See if you can get by with less a/c - surely when you are out it is just being wasted.

[mcfish]

4000 is cheap if your AC is 24/7 what size area are you cooling and is it duct-ed, how many BTU?

[masuk]

What's this guy going to do when the weather warms up?

[NoshowJones]

Alright, I did the math and I am being charged 7 baht per unit of electricity. How does this sound to you? Any idea what the normal rate is?

It seems you are getting charged the commercial rate for your electric. That is 7 Bt per unit. I am not sure if that should apply to a condo.

It applies to Guesthouses if you are paying a monthly rent, but condos?? as it's been pointed out, the government charge is 4 Bt per unit.

Edited October 5, 2015 by possum1931

[realenglish1]

If your being charged by the building and not the electrical authority then you are being charged a lot I had the same thing happen many years ago and told the buidling owner to take a hick and moved

I am in a condo now and only pay the bill coming form the government No add ons like a mansion has

[bazza40]

I use my aircon about 2 hours per day in the afternoon. I'm in a 46 sqm studio apartment. Use a fan the rest of the time. Like you, my electricity is 7 baht per unit. My power bill averages around 1000 baht a month. So I'd suggest the constant aircon use is the main contributor.

[franck1972]

I used to pay 7 B a unit in my previous condo.

Also had like 32 sqm, ran aircon most of the time, but only at 28 degrees.

My bill was almost like yours, around 3500 B on average.

Though, my air con was not in good condition, leakages here and there.

Some other people on the same building, with same 28 degrees settings, some consumption, paid less than 2000.

To me it seems like your aircon is quite old and should be changed.

7 B a unit in Bangkok is standard, but in Udon Thani ? Sounds expensive to me.

Any reason why they charge so much ? Lifts in your building ?

[peterb17]

Must admit that does seem a bit steep for a studio. It must be the aircon , lap tops etc would hardly use anything and a modern fridge is cheap to run.

What about hot water?

The rent is very reasonable, so the landlord tops it up- it's still cheap living.

I run aircon 24/7 around the house- on 26 , I like to be comfortable- but the bill is horrendous- I look at it in the same way I would have to have the central heating on back home- then you are looking at eye watering bills

If you are on a budget- fan during the day ( very cheap to buy) and aircon at night if you find it to warm to sleep.

Otherwise move, but you might find a higher rent with give you electricity at Government rates - maybe

[Sutty]

Yes you are not paying goverment rate contact your landlord and ask him what rate he is charging you. I run A/c at night about 24/5° and if really unbearable during day maybe for an hr or so then a couple of fans low setting to circulate air. Also find closing curtains helps during day keep sun out. I have invested in a 2k bht stand alone cooler throw ice in top and turn it on only got it from tesco lotus yesterday but seemed to work really well in main room today. Only put one bag of ice in this am and still frozen in there now so hopefully it will cut down electric bill even further.

[Shiver]

My bill in Udon is typically 700-800 baht, though I very rarely use the A/C as I wanted to climatise to the weather. With it I would expect an extra 1500-2000 baht or so (especially if with a GF that sets it on minimum target temp then crawls under the duvet because it's cold).

When I first got here (many years ago) I stayed at "Mono place", and in there you can see the meters for each room. At that time the unit cost was 3.5baht and they charged 7 baht a unit Where I am now I just take care of all utility bills myself.

Not really related, but also at that time I was told that if your water bill was less than 85 baht they didn't bother charging as the admin cost was more than the revenue. Later I started getting a bill for 85.xx (always a different number, but just enough to take it over 85 baht (with 2 people it tended to be 120-130 ish). The last 2 months the water bill has been about 32 baht per month. I don't know what that is all about, but quite a dramatic drop in percentage terms, even if it is petty cash - I swear I haven't given up on taking a shower. I also know of a family of 4 outside the city that also pay 32 baht.

[Edit]: In contrast, a couple of years ago I was running several very energy hungry computers 24/7 that would make the bill about 4000-5000 baht a month, which considering that they said the meter was a 15 Amp unit, made me scratch my head a little. It delivered no problem, but wonder if I was getting a dual rate charge. I never bothered to check, as cost wasn't an issue, it was the computing results I was interested in.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Shiver

[meltingpot2015]

Way too much for Udon. See the numbeo website below for average utility costs: (note there's not much data for Udon, so may have affected the result)

Bangkok:

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Thailand&city=Bangkok

Udon:

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Thailand&city=Udon+Thani

I have seen many threads on this forum about inflated condo/apartment utility charges in Thailand. Here's a recent one:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/859502-aircon-massive-energy-consumption-any-alternative/

Edited October 5, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[elliss]

What's this guy going to do when the weather warms up?

Go home.

[franck1972]

Yes you are not paying goverment rate contact your landlord and ask him what rate he is charging you. I run A/c at night about 24/5° and if really unbearable during day maybe for an hr or so then a couple of fans low setting to circulate air. Also find closing curtains helps during day keep sun out. I have invested in a 2k bht stand alone cooler throw ice in top and turn it on only got it from tesco lotus yesterday but seemed to work really well in main room today. Only put one bag of ice in this am and still frozen in there now so hopefully it will cut down electric bill even further.

Sounds interesting.

Could you tell us more about this device you bought at tesco ?

Brand name, device name ? And at which Tesco you got it ?

Thanks

[radiochaser]

Yes you are not paying goverment rate contact your landlord and ask him what rate he is charging you. I run A/c at night about 24/5° and if really unbearable during day maybe for an hr or so then a couple of fans low setting to circulate air. Also find closing curtains helps during day keep sun out. I have invested in a 2k bht stand alone cooler throw ice in top and turn it on only got it from tesco lotus yesterday but seemed to work really well in main room today. Only put one bag of ice in this am and still frozen in there now so hopefully it will cut down electric bill even further.

Sounds interesting.

Could you tell us more about this device you bought at tesco ?

Brand name, device name ? And at which Tesco you got it ?

Thanks

This is something like he is writing about, I think.

https://www.google.com/search?num=100&safe=off&site=&source=hp&q=Make+your+own+ice+cooler+air+conditioner&oq=Make+your+own+ice+cooler+air+conditioner&gs_l=hp.3...3977.15163.0.15298.41.34.0.7.7.0.208.2602.30j3j1.34.0....0...1c.1.64.hp..3.38.2282.0.6cms0T7HI_U

[Sutty]

Yes you are not paying goverment rate contact your landlord and ask him what rate he is charging you. I run A/c at night about 24/5° and if really unbearable during day maybe for an hr or so then a couple of fans low setting to circulate air. Also find closing curtains helps during day keep sun out. I have invested in a 2k bht stand alone cooler throw ice in top and turn it on only got it from tesco lotus yesterday but seemed to work really well in main room today. Only put one bag of ice in this am and still frozen in there now so hopefully it will cut down electric bill even further.

Sounds interesting.

Could you tell us more about this device you bought at tesco ?

Brand name, device name ? And at which Tesco you got it ?

Thanks

This is something like he is writing about, I think.

https://www.google.com/search?num=100&safe=off&site=&source=hp&q=Make+your+own+ice+cooler+air+conditioner&oq=Make+your+own+ice+cooler+air+conditioner&gs_l=hp.3...3977.15163.0.15298.41.34.0.7.7.0.208.2602.30j3j1.34.0....0...1c.1.64.hp..3.38.2282.0.6cms0T7HI_U

Laugh I almost wet myself but given my age I can be excused Levano is the name on the machine I got the store wrong it was big c in KK it does look like a dehumidifier has a swing door on front where you pop the ice in then just turn it on the melted ice water is captured in a container at the bottom easy to remove and throw water over plants it was on promotion. Price 2,159 BHT

[Tywais]

Government rate breakdown for a house for my last bill.

3.5978 B/Unit base rate

.4638 B/Unit FT (Fuel Tariff, reduced from previous month)

7% VAT

38.22 B service charge

All inclusive 4.4072B/unit using 668 units

[zierf1]

An average electric bill for a fan loom is about 500 baht/month. So, you can save money that way. Just get a good floor fan and open the windows/doors & blast away to remove humidity. I suggest blasting the fan directly on the bed at nighttime(works for me).

fan loom = 2200 baht/month water = 200 'leky' = 500 total = 2900 baht/month total accommodation expenses cheap living at it's finest

[lostinisaan]

What's this guy going to do when the weather warms up?

Maybe having a 6,000 baht bill.....welcome to the Land of Smile. .

Or wait a minute. The OP could walk around at Big C, Tesco and Makro at daytime and save a lot of money.

Edited October 5, 2015 by lostinisaan

[jacko45k]

Alright, I did the math and I am being charged 7 baht per unit of electricity. How does this sound to you? Any idea what the normal rate is?

I pay about 4.5 baht per unit, directly to the electric company.

The rate is a sort of sliding scale, those that consume more, end up paying more per unit.

You may well be paying a higher rate to your landlord.

I also think you are being wasteful by running your AC 24/7. Don't you ever go out?

I consume about 600 units per month, for a place much bigger than a studio, and make efforts to be economical. My bedroom AC I turn on 1/2 hour before bedtime and it switches to night mode, then off an hour before I get up. I don't need AC in my living room. Do you have hot walls from direct sunlight?

[Colabamumbai]

Alright, I did the math and I am being charged 7 baht per unit of electricity. How does this sound to you? Any idea what the normal rate is?

The landlord pays PEA about 3 Baht per hour. Most landlords charge between 6 and 8 Baht per hour to their clients.

If it is your first month, did you read the meter when you moved in.? I had one owner charge me for the previous tenants electricity.

Water should be 25 Baht a unit, I see now many landlords charging 200- 300 Baht per month.

For 2 people 4 to 6 units per month of water usage.

[billphillips]

Almost any room that's rented in an apartment building will charge 7 or even more baht per unit of electricity. As stated here previously the correct rate works out to around 4 baht, it's unlikely that the owner will reduce his selling price to you though. It's also unlikely that the air-con fitted to your room is a particularly efficient model, more likely a budget or reconditioned item.

I keep one air-con running 24/7, set at 27c. My bill last month was 1165 baht paid directly to the electricity supply company (Udon PEA). From that basic comparison to the OP, I would think that the air-con unit is either set at too low a temperature or its inefficient for some reason, it's even possible that the meter has been tampered with. Plus of course the 75% cost adjustment to the benefit of the owner.

All said and done, I think most room renters are exactly the same and it will be near impossible to improve on the situation.

[MYKTHEMIN]

Many places in Udon charge 10 baht a unit, complete robbers, ask before you rent, water also a complete scam. better to rent house and pay both direct with the companies.

[Eneukman]

I can't comment about Udon but in Jomtien, I pay around 4 baht per unit for my condo (owned). It's 74 square metres with 2 rooms. When I lived on my own, the electric bills varied from perhaps 900 baht to close to 1200 baht. Now, it varies from around 1100 baht to 1500 baht. The aircon is hardly used in winter and maybe 1 - 2 hours in the summer. I've just bought 2 new 12,000 btu units so we'll see next year whether that makes a difference or not. There are owners who charge tenants a higher rate even though they may be renting on a long term basis!

Living in a condo with 18 floors means the authority charges the condo a higher rate than for those living in houses or in smaller units.

Alan

[shirtless]

The landlord is making 75% of your electricity bill , always check before you rent elect and water this is an old scam and i have been caught out by this in the past.

[snoopy21]

My landlord charged me 10 bahts per unit while the government only charges around 4.7 bahts and I had to pay bt3,500 to 4,000 every month when I lived at an apartment central Pattaya. Thai people love to overcharge foreigners. Other than electricity, I realized that my landlord overcharged me bt1,500 for my rent after talking to my neighbor. Now, I bought my own condo and set up my own meter applying from the government. I pay not over bt2,500 every month but enjoying at least 4 more hours of having my AC on.