AraiWa · Know · Living & housing
Electricity in Thailand — how to pay the real rate
What this means
Electricity itself is inexpensive in Thailand. What makes a bill expensive is how you are billed: pay the utility directly and you pay the official rate; pay through a landlord's meter and you usually pay more for the same power — often around two to four times the official rate, though the exact markup varies by building. The difference is a margin, and you settle it before you sign a lease — not after the first bill arrives.
Last reviewed 2026-06-20 · AraiWa editorial
Two ways you'll be billed — and why it matters
There are two billing routes. Direct to the utility — PEA in most of the country, MEA in the Bangkok metropolitan area — at the official residential tariff. Or through your landlord, who reads the meter and bills you at a per-unit price they set. The first is the official rate. The second is usually higher; it is not illegal, just a common markup that the lease rarely spells out.
What a unit actually costs
On the official residential tariff, electricity is billed in tiered steps — in the rough order of 3–4 baht per kWh, plus small add-ons (the Ft fuel adjustment and VAT). A landlord-read meter is commonly higher, often around 7–10 baht per kWh. What actually moves a bill is air-conditioning and water heating: a mid-sized home runs around 400–700 kWh in the hottest months with AC, and 150–300 in cooler ones.
Ask these before you sign a lease
- Is electricity billed directly by the utility (PEA or MEA), or through the landlord?
- If through the landlord, what is the exact baht-per-unit price?
- Is the meter your own, or shared with other units?
- If any answer is vague, ask to see a recent electricity bill before you commit.
Why the questions are worth it
Same flat, same usage, same power: a tenant billed directly might pay around 2,000–2,500 baht in a hot month, while a neighbor on a landlord meter pays closer to 5,000 for the same consumption. Nothing about the electricity changed — only who set the price. Over a year, that gap is real money, and it is decided entirely by the lease you sign.
Limits and exceptions
- Landlord billing is legal and very common, especially in condos and serviced apartments — this is about knowing the price, not spotting a scam.
- A higher per-unit rate sometimes bundles other costs (common-area power, maintenance) — ask what is included before assuming it's pure margin.
- For a short stay the margin may not be worth chasing; it matters most over months.
- Whether you can be billed directly depends on the building and the meter setup — which is exactly why the 'own meter vs shared' question matters.