Electricity Bills in Thailand: Rates and What Renters Pay

Chiang Mai's electricity comes from the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), and its home tariff changed with the September 2026 bill. This guide gives the new rates, what a month costs at 150, 300 and 500 units, what air-conditioning really adds in Chiang Mai's heat, and what a landlord who bills you may charge. Every bill and every air-con figure here is our calculation from the official tariff, dated, with the sources at the end.

What does electricity cost in Thailand?#

Since the September 2026 bill, a home on its own PEA meter pays 3 baht a unit (one kilowatt-hour, kWh) for the first 200 units a month, 4.1584 for units 201–400 and 4.3583 from unit 401, plus a 24.62-baht service charge, the Ft fuel surcharge of 16.23 satang a unit and 7% VAT. That is about 1,165 baht for 300 units, or 3.89 baht a unit all in.

"3 baht a unit" is the energy charge only. With Ft and VAT, each of the first 200 units costs about 3.38 baht, each unit from 201 to 400 about 4.62, and each one above 400 about 4.84 (our calculation). Every home pays 3 baht for its first 200 units, however much it uses in total, so the cheap block matters most to light users. The change saves a home using 200–500 units about 105–126 baht a month against the tariff before September. Ft is reset every four months: the rate for January–April 2027 is expected around November 2026, and each 10 satang moves a 300-unit bill by about 32 baht. VAT is to stay at 7% until 30 September 2027, under a decree the Cabinet approved in July 2026.

What is the average electricity bill? No official average exists. In April 2026 the government said nine in ten Thai homes use under 500 units a month, which on today's tariff is a bill of up to about 2,111 baht. A small meter of 5 amps or less (type 1.1.1) costs exactly 28.16 baht a month less than a larger one at any use above 25 units, so the meter size hardly matters. PEA also offers an optional time-of-use rate (type 1.2): about 6.38 baht a unit on weekdays from 09:00 to 22:00 and 3.00 at other times, all in. It pays only if less than about a quarter to a third of your units fall in those peak hours, so it suits night-and-weekend users, not people who work from home.

How to read your electricity bill#

One unit on a Thai bill is one kilowatt-hour (kWh): PEA's Thai tariff says "หน่วย" (unit) where its English version says kWh. The units you pay for are this month's meter reading minus last month's. The bill then adds the energy charge, the service charge, Ft and VAT.

• Check whose name and which customer type are on the bill. A home on its own meter is type 1.1.1 or 1.1.2, and the lawful charge to you is that bill as issued.
• Type 8 is PEA's temporary supply, about 7.45 baht a unit all in. A new house billed on it can move to the home rate once it has six months of payment history; since 15 September 2026 the owner can ask PEA.
• For any appliance, kWh = watts × hours ÷ 1,000. A 3,500-watt water heater used 15 minutes a day uses about 26 units a month; a fan of 35–80 watts, 8 hours a day, about 8–19 (our calculation from EGAT's appliance figures).
• PEA's Contact Center is 1129, open 24 hours, for the account, the bill or a power cut.

What air-conditioning costs a month in Chiang Mai#

One 12,000 BTU inverter air-con costs about 460–890 baht a month at 8 hours a day in the cool and rainy months on your own meter, and about 1,000–1,600 baht in the hot season at 12 hours a day. At a landlord's 7–8 baht a unit the same use costs 1,160–2,740 baht (our calculation). Air-con, not the tariff, decides most tenants' bills.

For a whole one-bedroom condo with air-con, that means a bill of about 640–1,120 baht in the cool months with the air-con on at night, and about 1,400–1,870 baht in March to May with it on day and night: around 1,500 baht in the hot season is normal (our calculation; the rest of the home's use is our assumption, not a measurement). An hour of a 12,000 BTU inverter costs about 2–4.50 baht on your own meter, and 4–7.50 baht at a landlord's 8 baht.

Why the energy label runs low#

The No. 5 energy label's efficiency is tested over a mild season in which only about 1.2% of hours reach 33 °C. In Chiang Mai about 12% of daytime hours are that hot, and March and April average highs of 35–37 °C. In the Metropolitan Electricity Authority's test, a 12,000 BTU unit set to 26 °C drew 0.69 kWh an hour at 35 °C outside and 0.79 at 41 °C, at or above the top of what the label implies. Households in northern Thailand often set their bedrooms to 25 °C or lower, and each degree lower uses about 10% more.

• Set 26 °C and add a fan: the electricity authorities' own advice, worth about 10% a degree.
• Have the filters cleaned at least twice a year; PEA says regular cleaning saves up to 10–15%.
• An inverter used about 15% less than a fixed-speed unit in a Chiang Mai University simulation; ask which kind your rental has.
• Size matters: EGAT puts a 9,000 BTU unit with rooms of 12–15 m², 12,000 BTU with 16–20 m² and 18,000 BTU with 24–30 m².

When your landlord bills you for electricity#

If your home has its own PEA meter, you should pay the PEA bill as issued. If the landlord or the building reads a meter and sets a price per unit, that price is the landlord's: since 4 September 2025 it may not exceed the landlord's own cost, but only for landlords letting three or more homes. A single condo let by its owner is outside that rule, so the lease alone decides.

Tenants of rented rooms and apartments have been reported paying 6 to 10 baht a unit, according to the Consumer Council and the Energy Ministry; no Chiang Mai measurement exists. A building's own PEA business meter averages about 4.0–4.9 baht a unit all in, and even the temporary rate is about 7.45 (our calculation). So 8 baht a unit on 300 units is 2,400 baht, about 1,235 baht more than the same use on a home's own meter.

Where the rule applies, a clause that charges more than the utility charges the landlord is void. The lease must state each rate, which may change only when the utility's price changes; the landlord must send the bill at least three days before it is due, and you may inspect the data behind it. "At cost" means the building bill's amount divided by its units, as the consumer protection office's sample contract sets out. Breaking the rule can mean up to a year in prison, a fine of up to 200,000 baht, or both.

What to ask before you sign#

1. Is there a PEA meter for this home alone, or does the building bill me from its own meter?
2. If the building bills me: what is the price a unit, and is it written in the lease?
3. With a private owner, ask for this line in the lease: "The tenant pays the PEA and PWA bills as issued, with no surcharge."
4. Photograph the meter on the day you move in and the day you move out, and the bill each month.

TM30: what your landlord files when you move in

The landlord owes immigration a TM30 within 24 hours of your move-in, and you need its receipt.

Read the TM30 guide

Putting the meter in your name, and paying#

A foreigner can hold a PEA account: PEA asks non-Thai applicants for a passport copy, and a lease counts as proof that you live there. Moving an existing meter into your name is done at a PEA office (Monday to Friday, 08:30–16:30) or in the PEA Smart Plus app, and takes up to 30 working days once any arrears are paid and a new deposit is lodged.

We found no published deposit amount; ask PEA on 1129. For a lease of six or twelve months the transfer rarely pays: the lease line above, and a photo of each month's bill, protect you as well. PEA's Smart Plus app and its LINE account show bills and take payment.

If you are overcharged#

Ask the landlord for the building's bill first. If a landlord with three or more homes still charges more than the utility's price, complain to the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) on 1166. By May 2026 it had received 1,655 rental complaints since 2025, and overcharged utilities were the second most common.

A tenant of a private owner with one or two homes has no rule to invoke; the consumer protection office may still mediate, and the lease is what counts. That is why the price belongs in the lease before you sign.

Water bills in Thailand

PWA's rates, worked bills, and what a building on one meter may charge you.

Read the water guide