13% Increase in Electricity Charges

[WormFarmer]

Did anyone else notice that the unit costs of electricity went up by a whopping 13% in November last year? At least it did in Roi Et where I live. Because the unit rate is made up of several band rates which are not shown on electricity bills it is difficult to see what the net unit rate is. This increase comes despite a global fall in fuel prices. It seems that there is no overall control or watchdog and the PEA is free to charge what it likes without telling anyone of increases that are going to happen.

[colinneil]

You been drinking too much??

Just checked our electric bills for last 3 months, no change.

[KhunBENQ]

Did anyone else notice that the unit costs of electricity went up by a whopping 13% in November last year?

Yes, me

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/872026-double-digit-price-hike-for-electricity-nov-16-2015/

Base rate for highest scale risen by 12%.

For Nov and Dec the hike was hidden by lowering/even inverting the "Ft" surcharge.

But seems now (Jan) the hike is visible.

Unfortunately I have not seen the January bill yet (came back on Jan 31, will have to ask my wife whether bill is somewhere).

Edited February 2, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[KhunBENQ]

There it is.
Found the bill for January.

Meter read on 19.Jan.

Only 287 units (who needs electricity in these cold times ) for 1174.88 Baht.

Average of 4.09 Baht/unit.

AND: the "Ft" (so called fuel "surcharge") is still negative.

Ft for Jan to Apr 2016 is shown as -0.0480 Baht/unit.

EDIT!!

I took the tedious task to calc the price with the old base rates and the current Ft.

Result is 1017.27.

(to the best of knowledge)

Price hike: 15.5%

Edited February 2, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[Sophon]

As mentioned by others the real rate hasn't gone up, they have just changed the base rate and the surcharge:

October:

First 150 units:

Base rate: 2.7628 Baht/unit

FT: 0.4638 Baht/unit

Real rate: 3.2266 Baht/unit

Next band (over 150 units):

Base rate: 3.7362 Baht/unit

FT: 0.4638 Baht/unit

Real rate: 4.2000 Baht/unit

November + December:

First 150 units:

Base rate: 3.2484 Baht/unit

FT: -0.0323 Baht/unit

Real rate: 3.2161 Baht/unit

Next band (over 150 units):

Base rate: 4.2218 Baht/unit

FT: -0.0323 Baht/unit

Real rate: 4.1895 Baht/unit

January:

First 150 units:

Base rate: 3.2484 Baht/unit

FT: -0.0480 Baht/unit

Real rate: 3.2004 Baht/unit

Next band (over 150 units):

Base rate: 4.2218 Baht/unit

FT: -0.0480 Baht/unit

Real rate: 4.1738 Baht/unit

So rather than rising the rate has actually gone (ever so slightly) down. I don't know what has happened to the rates in higher usage bands, but I suspect it's the same picture.

Sophon

[KhunBENQ]

Always good to have a peer review. Anything overlooked?

Thats my calc for the 287 units based on the old base prices before Nov and using current Ft.

150 * 2.7628 = 414.42
137 * 3.7362 = 511.86
---------------------
926.28
serv. charge 38.22
---------------------
964.50
287 * -0.048 -13.78 (Ft)
---------------------
950.72
7%tax 66,55

1017.27

Current bill 1174.88.

Looking at this as a price hike is assuming that the Ft follows a real the lowering of oil/gas prices.

Edited February 2, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[KhunBENQ]

BTW: the topic is not Isan specific. Prices are the same nationwide.

Would get more (heated ) responses in the General forum.

[soalbundy]

There it is.

Found the bill for January.

Meter read on 19.Jan.

Only 287 units (who needs electricity in these cold times ) for 1174.88 Baht.

Average of 4.09 Baht/unit.

AND: the "Ft" (so called fuel "surcharge") is still negative.

Ft for Jan to Apr 2016 is shown as -0.0480 Baht/unit.

EDIT!!

I took the tedious task to calc the price with the old base rates and the current Ft.

Result is 1017.27.

(to the best of knowledge)

Price hike: 15.5%

How do you get a bill like that, mine is around 3,800 Baht with a 4 person household. Yes i have noticed the increase although i don't know the percentage.

[WormFarmer]

You been drinking too much??

Just checked our electric bills for last 3 months, no change.

Nope. Looks like most folk's charges have gone up but masked by a reduction in the fuel surcharge, sure your's haven't? - maybe you are the one who has been drinking and didn't notice the change.

Edited February 2, 2016 by WormFarmer

[Sophon]

Bottom line is that the changes are just accounting, and people are paying the same now as they were before the changes.

Sophon

[WormFarmer]

Bottom line is that the changes are just accounting, and people are paying the same now as they were before the changes.

Sophon

Not really true. They have taken advantage of the global reduction in fuel costs to mask an increase in the various unit rates. Since oil costs have gone down dramatically we should be seeing a sharp decrease in our bills. In fact we are not because they are not passing on that saving to us consumers because they have negated the savings with unit rate increases.

[deansy1972]

Can anyone tell me what the rate per unit for electricity is in udon thani

[bridge2bridge]

Still a LOT CHEAPER than Farang Land.

[bridge2bridge]

There it is.

Found the bill for January.

Meter read on 19.Jan.

Only 287 units (who needs electricity in these cold times ) for 1174.88 Baht.

Average of 4.09 Baht/unit.

AND: the "Ft" (so called fuel "surcharge") is still negative.

Ft for Jan to Apr 2016 is shown as -0.0480 Baht/unit.

EDIT!!

I took the tedious task to calc the price with the old base rates and the current Ft.

Result is 1017.27.

(to the best of knowledge)

Price hike: 15.5%

How do you get a bill like that, mine is around 3,800 Baht with a 4 person household. Yes i have noticed the increase although i don't know the percentage.

[bridge2bridge]

There it is.

Found the bill for January.

Meter read on 19.Jan.

Only 287 units (who needs electricity in these cold times ) for 1174.88 Baht.

Average of 4.09 Baht/unit.

AND: the "Ft" (so called fuel "surcharge") is still negative.

Ft for Jan to Apr 2016 is shown as -0.0480 Baht/unit.

EDIT!!

I took the tedious task to calc the price with the old base rates and the current Ft.

Result is 1017.27.

(to the best of knowledge)

Price hike: 15.5%

How do you get a bill like that, mine is around 3,800 Baht with a 4 person household. Yes i have noticed the increase although i don't know the percentage.

In Bangkok for two people i never pay more than 1000 Baht.

[Tywais]

Can anyone tell me what the rate per unit for electricity is in udon thani

As mentioned, it is the same across the board regardless of area you are in. You can use this calculator from MEA - http://www.mea.or.th/aboutelectric/index.php?l=en&tid=4&mid=280&pid=116&ctForm=form11

//edit - Just saw that the calculator is not entirely up to date so will be an approximation until they correct it.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Tywais
Updated info

[Tywais]

BTW, this is my historical data for 4 years.

[Sophon]

Bottom line is that the changes are just accounting, and people are paying the same now as they were before the changes.

Sophon

Not really true. They have taken advantage of the global reduction in fuel costs to mask an increase in the various unit rates. Since oil costs have gone down dramatically we should be seeing a sharp decrease in our bills. In fact we are not because they are not passing on that saving to us consumers because they have negated the savings with unit rate increases.

But then again the OP wasn't about whether electricity charges should have been reduced, but rather about a supposed double digit percentage increase in charges between October and November. So yes, bottom line is that people are paying the same for electricity now as they were in October of last year.

Sophon

[White Christmas13]

Still a LOT CHEAPER than Farang Land.

Where in Farang land ?

my bill is about 85 AUD per month equals 2100 per month

[lostinisaan]

You been drinking too much??

Just checked our electric bills for last 3 months, no change.

Nope. Looks like most folk's charges have gone up but masked by a reduction in the fuel surcharge, sure your's haven't? - maybe you are the one who has been drinking and didn't notice the change.

Those guys who live in front of a 7 Eleven usually don't pay for electricity......

[Issangeorge]

My bill went up a little over 1% from ฿3.8435/unit to ฿3.8856/unit this is the Kalasin PEA, I used a little less so my bill was less than December's.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Issangeorge

[KhunBENQ]

Can anyone tell me what the rate per unit for electricity is in udon thani

As mentioned, it is the same across the board regardless of area you are in. You can use this calculator from MEA - http://www.mea.or.th/aboutelectric/index.php?l=en&tid=4&mid=280&pid=116&ctForm=form11

Unfortunately the calculator is not up to date,

The English version shows Ft = 0

The Thai version shows Ft = -0.0323

Both not correct.

Base prices seem to be correct.

Even worse: the English language price list is outdated (2012).

Edited February 2, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[BudRight]

Still a LOT CHEAPER than Farang Land.

In farangland I pay the baht equivalent of 4.177 in the Summer and 2.830 in Winter.

[Tywais]

Can anyone tell me what the rate per unit for electricity is in udon thani

As mentioned, it is the same across the board regardless of area you are in. You can use this calculator from MEA - http://www.mea.or.th/aboutelectric/index.php?l=en&tid=4&mid=280&pid=116&ctForm=form11

Unfortunately the calculator is not up to date,

The English version shows Ft = 0

The Thai version shows Ft = -0.0323

I get -0.0323 for both English and Thai version. But yep, out of date as that was December. January is -0.0480. Service charge also wrong at 8.19B when it is 38.22B

So only useful for a rough estimate rather than a precise number.

[lavender19]

Still a LOT CHEAPER than Farang Land.

In farangland I pay the baht equivalent of 4.177 in the Summer and 2.830 in Winter.

and in farangland you get a reliable service .Not on and off, power surges wrecking electrical goods ect.

Seems they are charging well over the top for the usual Thai cra-p service

[WormFarmer]

This is a copy of my records for the last two years:

Power_2014_2015.pdf

It shows monthly power consumption against the left hand axis, and the unit rates against the right hand axis. Note that in November the variable basic rate went up at the same time as the fuel surcharge went down so that the net total unit rate remained more or less the same. Let us hope the fuel surcharge rate doesn't go up again soon.