geisha Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Hi , just moved into a studio in Jomtien on the 23 rd of December. I've just received the electric bill, 140 units , unit price 6.00 baht = 840 B. Water 2 units , unit price 35.00 B = 70 B. The name on the bill is correct. ( my name) i find this a bit steep for 8 days use, as I use mainly my fan and hardly 2/3 hours a day air con, which looks new, if that matters ? At a hundred baht a day, my electric bill will be 3000 B a month at this rate. Am I right ? A few details, single lady, no washing machine, just fridge, TV , evening lighting,and I don't cook. I'm going to. See them tomorrow but I want to be prepared ! I've rented before here, and never had a bill like this. thank you so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorro1 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Be prepared for the usual suspects claiming to run 3 air cons and a pool pump for under 1k a Month.. It's a mystery... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangostin Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Simple solution: Try to unplug/turn off every single item that sucks electricity, then go to check your meter, if it's still spinning after having done that, chances are that you just joined the club of a few lucky expats here in Los. After that, switch off completely your meter, soon you will have someone knocking at your door to complain about it, if it's another expat, please ask him under which alias he's posting on this forum, that probably the same guy mentioned earlier by someone else, which run the 3 air con & pool pump for under 1k.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhunBENQ Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 There must be a hundred threads about electricity price scattered about all parts of the forum. Expert knowledge is mostly in the Electrical forum. Moved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhunBENQ Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Are you certain that the bill refers to 23 Dec onward only? Was someone living in the studio before during last month? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfokevin Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Since you just moved in you do not know what the usage was for the previous 22 days before you moved in was?... the bill is for a 30 day period... maybe the condo owner left the lights or AC on when showing the unit... I would wait for a full month billing when you are in the condo to give a real idea of your usage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geisha Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Yes, the date on the bill is just December . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhunBENQ Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Overlapping and my idea too. Do you have access to the meter to read it? Note the reading daily to find out what is going on. 6 Baht per unit? The usual rip off to make some extra Baht (hidden cost). Original price is about 4 Baht (plus/minus). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCor Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 This may not help with your approaching meeting, but... take a meter reading, then exactly 24 hours later take another reading. See if it squares with what your bill would say your daily usage is (pro-rated). The other posters may be right, it's probably a full cycle bill (month) with just a name change (but not pro-rated to adjust for your 8 days of occupancy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geisha Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Ok, , will do all that tomorrow, thanks a lot !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC 71 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I always find that December and January are the two most expensive months for electric billsSent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A1Str8 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Once my electricity bill was twenty baht because I barely spent time at the place I rented. The manager woman found it so funny, she looked at the bill and it seemed she never had so much fun in her life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossy Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 That works out as an average load of about 730 Watts which seems a lot for a studio. Fridge and fan (both 24/7) would probably account for 150-200 of that. So somewhere is 500W. How big is the aircon (BTU) and how long do you really use it for (or how big is the studio and we can guess at the A/C). How about your computer laptop/desktop? Hours powered up? For comparison, our average load is 1,700W for a large home but little aircon use (one room overnight at 28C), fridge/freezer, chest freezer, TV all day, two desktop computers 12 hours a day (24 at the weekend), overnight security lights (all lighting is low energy / LED). Good advice above to look at your meter activity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Mega Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 9 hours ago, Mangostin said: Simple solution: Try to unplug/turn off every single item that sucks electricity, then go to check your meter, if it's still spinning after having done that, chances are that you just joined the club of a few lucky expats here in Los. After that, switch off completely your meter, soon you will have someone knocking at your door to complain about it, if it's another expat, please ask him under which alias he's posting on this forum, that probably the same guy mentioned earlier by someone else, which run the 3 air con & pool pump for under 1k.... How does one switch of the meter, mine has no on/off switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langsuan Man Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 2 hours ago, Don Mega said: How does one switch of the meter, mine has no on/off switch. You don't ; you can only insure that all electric using devices are turned off, much easier if you have a inside circuit box so you can just turn off the master Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhunBENQ Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 10 hours ago, KC 71 said: I always find that December and January are the two most expensive months for electric bills Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect That's contra dictionary to our experience. The two coldest months of the year and all three ACs off since months. Wish I had a heater around New Year. Bill for April and May is about double to almost triple the current one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Mega Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 (edited) 11 hours ago, KC 71 said: I always find that December and January are the two most expensive months for electric bills Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect I find my electric bill to be more expensive during the hotter months, rather than December/January which are cooler. EDIT: yeah what KhunBENQ said !! Edited January 7, 2017 by Don Mega Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louse1953 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 12 hours ago, KC 71 said: I always find that December and January are the two most expensive months for electric bills Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect I always find them the cheapest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawhod Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 1 hour ago, louse1953 said: I always find them the cheapest. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Mega Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 4 hours ago, Langsuan Man said: You don't ; you can only insure that all electric using devices are turned off, much easier if you have a inside circuit box so you can just turn off the master As I thought, maybe Mangostin meant to go out to the meter and undo the wires feeding into it. What could possibly go wrong !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geisha Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 Update on my question. Went to the office and hey checked the last persons bill. The amount corresponded to my check in date of Dec 23 so I don't think they are ripping me off as I saw the bill. She did say 840'sounded a bit steep for 8 days with minimum air con use, and suggested we see a full month amount of January. She also said that at 6 baht a unit it was much more than government meters. So, I'll just check again end of January, and maybe try a daily check with all appliances ( fridge,TV, fan, ) turned off. Thanks again for all your comments and help, cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangostin Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 6 hours ago, Langsuan Man said: You don't ; you can only insure that all electric using devices are turned off, much easier if you have a inside circuit box so you can just turn off the master Obviously it was a case of oversimplify the task, for someone which very likely might not be that familiar with an elcb. Anyone which has it's personal safety at heart, supposed to have at least a basic circuit breaker installed, unfortunately, often that's not the case, even at dwelling occupied by westerners here.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangostin Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 8 hours ago, Don Mega said: How does one switch of the meter, mine has no on/off switch. If you can't stop the spinning of your meter, than you are a member of the club i mentioned earlier, which it's just not yet aware of being one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Mega Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Just now, Mangostin said: If you can't stop the spinning of your meter, than you are a member of the club i mentioned earlier, which it's just not yet aware of being one.... So how do I turn off the meter ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiang mai Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 (edited) Turn off the master switch at the consumer unit, duh! Edited January 7, 2017 by chiang mai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossy Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Indeed ^^^. Whilst meters with built-in isolators do exist (usually 'smart' meters) they are not common in Thailand. Turn off your main breaker and ensure the meter stops rotating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC 71 Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 I always find them the cheapest.Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa ConnectI guess it depends where you are livingI dont have airconBut i have hotter showers and occasionally use a fan heater in those months,so the electric bill is higher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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