For those still confused about what they should be getting from the three state-owned electricity providers, who sent more 35.33 billion baht worth of profit back to the government’s coffer in 2019, here is the Thai Enquirer’s simplification for you.
Lowered bill
Initially, the Thai government gave every household a 3 per cent discount on their electricity bill. This means that if your bill came at 1,500 baht, the discount was only 45 baht.
However, since we are all working and studying from home during the nationwide lockdown, the latest electricity bill is likely to have increased – maybe even doubling or tripling in cost.
With that in mind, the cabinet has approved more discount for the next bill. To keep note, the government expects the scheme to help around 22 million households at the cost of 23.69 billion baht. The scheme will run from March until May.
Here are the measures and here is how it works:
- Free electricity for 10 million households with five ampere electrical meter and at no more than 150 units per month.
- For households that use more than 150 units per month but no more than 800 units, the government will help with added costs during the nationwide lockdown. Essentially, if you use 300 units in February but the number has increased to 700 units in March, the government will help pay for the added 400 units.
- If households use more than 800 units, the difference from one month to the next would be halved. For example, if you use 500 units in February but it has increased to 1,000 units in March, the cost for the added 500 units will be halved.
- For households that use more than 3,000 units, the difference between months will be reduced by 30 per cent. For example, if you use 1,200 units in February but it increased to 3,200 units in March, the cost for the added 2,000 units will be reduced by 30 per cent.
- For the period between March and May, the base for the discount will be the February’s bill.
- For people who have paid their bills for March, the discount will be deducted from your next bill so there is no need to do anything except wait and see.
Meter deposit
As one of the three state-own electricity providers, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) said in April that they have given back cash deposits on electric meters worth 3.13 billion baht to 1.1 million households so far.
The refund depends on the size of the meter, starting at 300 baht for a small residence and up to 6,000 baht for larger ones. Both the MEA and the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) have started to return these deposits since March 30 and they said that about 2 million households have registered for it as of April 14.
The MEA apologized for the delay in returning these deposits to customers as they had to confirm the validity of the claims and make sure that no mistakes were made during the reimbursement process.
The MEA said they can process around 100,000 applicants per day and they have been doing so since the registration opened on March 25. The process involves working with banks as well.
The online registration and phone registration will remain open and it will not be closed down for the foreseeable future, the MEA said.
For around 900,000 applicants who have yet to receive their deposits, here are some of the reasons:
- You registered with the wrong providers. MEA only takes care of customers in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan. If you live in other provinces, this means you have to get the deposit back from the PEA.
- You are not eligible. The name on the online claim should be the same name as the person who registered for the meter and paid the deposit fee with the MEA and the PEA. If you changed your name or if you have registered for the reimbursement for your parents, you will need to send in more documents to prove it.
- The name on the bank account that you have provided on the claim is different to the person who registered for the meter and paid the deposit fee with the MEA and the PEA.
- If you asked to be reimbursed via PromptPay, the name on the national e-payment scheme must be the same as the person who registered for the meter and paid the deposit fee with the MEA and the PEA.
- A lot of people who chose to receive their money from 7-Eleven counters have failed to go and pick up their money. The money will be available via the channel for 30 days after it has been approved. If no one claims it at the counter, it will be cancelled, but the person can register online again once it has been voided.
