High Electricity Rate - Bangkok

[ericnoodeeka]

You can use the Bangkok Metropolitan Electric Authority (MEA) online electric bill calculator at the webpage below to determine your monthly electric bill to the stang. Expect the tariff schedule used by the great, great majority of residents is 1.1 or 1.2 "when they are billed directly." If not billed directly...billed through your landlord...then you are paying whatever the landlord wants to charge. I'm under scehdule 1.2 in my single family house. There is very, very little difference between schedule 1.1 or 1.2...like only around 1 baht for 500 KWH (units) used.

http://www.mea.or.th/aboutelectric/index.php?l=en&tid=4&mid=280&pid=116&ctForm=form11

When going to the above website it will default to schedule 1.1 and include the current Ft which is a -4.8 stang/KWH this month. The Ft use to be much higher but back in mid Nov 15 MEA & PEA rebaselined their rates by rolling in the Ft to the basic rates...this basically rebaselined the rates setting the Ft back to zero.

Actually since mid Nov the Ft has been a negative value due to low world fuel prices. So, if selecting rate 1.2 it will not automatically include the Ft and you will need to manually enter it...don't forget to include the minus sign since the current Ft is a negative value (lowers your charge a little). Enter the number of KWH hours used per month along with the Ft, click calculate, and it will detail the bill for you. As far as I know MEA and PEA rates are the same so you can use the MEA calculator for your PEA bill also.

For example the cost of 500KWH per month on schedule 1.1 is: Bt2,140.78 or Bt4.21568/KWH (rounded Bt4.2/KWH). The cost of 500KWH on schedule 1.2 is Bt2139.04 or Bt4.27808/KWH (rounded Bt4.3/KWH). This includes all taxes/fees/etc., for those billed directly....but as mentioned, if you are being billed through your landlord he/she may be charging a significantly higher amount....not uncommon....it's just profit for them and/or helps to pay the community area electric bill if you are not being charged that already in your rent in one way or another. Ah heck, I'm just beating around the bush...they are just making a very nice profit if charging around 7 baht/KWH or more.

That earlier estimate of around Bt4.6/KHW was based on my cost a few months ago and just from memory...slightly different tariff plus I use quite a bit of electricity per month...around 2,000KWH per month. Using that higher amount results in a slightly higher cost per KWH since the electric company charges a little more for higher amounts used. When using the calculator above you can see the different charges for the first 150KWH used, a little higher amount for the next 250KWH used, and then a slightly higher amount still for amounts over 400KWH. I'm on residential schedule 1.2... using the calculator today shows a 2000KWH usage costs Bt9158.83 or Bt4.579/KWH (rounded Bt4.6KWH).

nice and informative, but bloody hell, you relly use 2000 kw per month?, i have a 3 bedroom home on 8 rai, big garden, sprinklers, waterpumps, aircon, a wife and a daughter and we use about 300kw per month, how on earth do you use 2000 kw?, you should look at solar or wind, that will reduce it alot.

[Pib]

Sure do in some months...7 A/Cs in the houses. Solar or wind?..too expensive to setup...might look into nuclear.

Quite a few posts with people using different amounts of electricity. Some have small rooms most likely with one small BTU A/C and low electric bills...others have larger residences with multiple A/Cs/TVs/refrigerators/etc., with higher electric bills. Other things like preferred temperature settings is a wild card, how many hours per 24 hour period A/C(s) are used, construction of their residences, etc. Trying to compare electric bills between people is usually like trying to compare apples and oranges.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Pib