bubbatron
We moved from Ubud to Canggu about 2 weeks ago and we just had the electricity man come around give us a bill for 2.5million for 2 weeks and then turned off our electricity when I said to wait for the manager to come down. By the time he did come down it was too late to call them so we had no power all night ruined my stuff in fridge etcAnyway I have lived in Bali on and off for few years and even living in a 4 bedroom villa in Ubud with 4 people and with air cons running constantly it never reached past 1 million for the whole monthI only got to villa on june 18th and its a 4 bedroom though we only use 3 and only one air con most of the time, sometimes two for a little bitThe manager said its not right and he will help us fix it up this bill but thats not fixing the problem. I am going to get another bill in one month thats going to be crazy. His excuse is sometimes villas cost more to run!!!?? its bullcrap. Our agent is american/indonesian so he knows whats going on.I mean I didn't even pay this much for elec in australiaCan I compare bills with other people living in simular houses. 3-4 bed, 2 air cons, pool, outside lights, some fansI dont think neighbours are stealing elec as when our power was cut off yesterday they still had lights on and same with behindMaybe a power leak somewhere?? something isn't right. any idea??
Markit
My place at 3 bedrooms with 2 AC, 2 fridges and a large swimming pool lights on all the time at night and fans is at most 800k in month. It's listed as 3500 Watt if that makes any difference?I figure you're paying for the whole street. Wanna move to Candi Dasa?
bubbatron
It does seem like I am too. I am trying to get to the bottom of it. I think there is something going on like an unpaid bill because I have never heard of elec being switched off on the very same hour the elec man hands you the bill. Normally its if you havent paid the bill for the last month they turn it off is what I have heardMy manager is down there sorting it out currently but I want to have some comparisons ready to give to him.Thanks for your reply :)
Smoke
Seems like past due bills unpaid as u only been there 2 weeks and they shut u off .. Maybe past owner not pay last bill or bills
Gozer
Hey there, I am new here but I feel I can share my bill :) I have 4 bedrooms 2 always on ceiling fans, 1 normal fan also always on, 3 A/C's 2 of which are always on, I am certain my wife has never heard of shutting a light off so they are always on, no pool but a large pond run by three pumps that are always on, exterior lighting, and 2 fridges. Our bill also includes our internet and phone and we have never exceeded 1.700.000 and I call international A LOT
joji gulapetis
Seems like past due bills unpaid as u only been there 2 weeks and they shut u off .. Maybe past owner not pay last bill or bills[/QUOTE]Try to find a copy of the last bill paid to the PLN. That should provide a bit more data for you. Also, see what the final meter reading was on the last bill paid. We have found in jakarta that quite often the guys who read the meters are too lazy to actually read it, and just put down an arbitrary amount, very often much less than what is actually used. Then when one actually comes around and reads the meter, you get an unpleasant surprise.
Dick Rector
Fridge freezer, electric kettle and coffeemaker, fans, 1 airco about 12 hours per day, waterpump, plenty lights and 4 exterior lights all night, washing machine.TV etc etc NEVER paid more than about 450K p/m.
Dunaden
Just wondering if prices vary from south to north etc? Like everything else seems to? If anyone's put solar in, I'd love to hear how it went as bending over when the electricity bill comes seems to be the deal I've here?
bubbatron
Hi thankyou for all your responses. Here is the update. So it seemed my manager worked something out with the company but it still took 30 hours to get my power back onWe are getting a pulsa machine installed in a couple days because we are all certain something isn't right, either geting ripped off or someone taking it perhaps?So we got the bill down to 1 million which is still very high but hopefully from this point on (or from when we get the prepaid pulsa electricity) it will be under control
spicyayam
Our electric bill is up and down all of the time, with no explanation. I have heard that for some reason you pay more for electricity if you are on pulsa. Anyone else heard this? We need to get our power upgraded and it seems like a pulsa meter is the only option now.
Gozer
The prepaid I am certain is a scam. I have 1 room and a bathroom on prepaid and the rest of the house is standard and those two rooms cost 450.000 a month. If it is the only way around the bill problem though it is better than 5.000.000 a month which is what it sounds like they were setting you up for.I didn't want to post again but I was thinking about how much I hate prepaid and wanted to say more. Your credit ALWAYS runs out on the weekend typically Saturday after the shop closes it will start it's beeping which I am sure they charge you for the energy it takes to make it beep and if there is a way to stop it I haven't figured it out yet. Once it starts beeping I have about a day and a half before it is completely empty so I spend the rest of Saturday and all Sunday listening to the that annoying beep. If I am lucky I will get to the shop Monday morning before the power goes off if not well I spend Sunday night in the dark. I know I said it is only 1 room and a bathroom it just so happens it is my bedroom and bathroom. Anyway I could go on I really hate prepaid.
davita
The thing about pulsa is there are no standard charges as you do not receive any bills, therefore you pay more but only what you use, depending on the supply ie 3300KW; 5500KW; 7700KW.However, if you increase the supply available to the house to the next level, the rate used per KWH will increase....whether you use more or not.Just read Gozer's edit....Is there only one store selling pulsa where you live? Where I am there are dozens and open most anytime....my maid just goes and tops up.
ronb
......................Your credit ALWAYS runs out on the weekend typically Saturday after the shop closes it will start it's beeping which I am sure they charge you for the energy it takes to make it beep and if there is a way to stop it I haven't figured it out yet. Once it starts beeping I have about a day and a half before it is completely empty so I spend the rest of Saturday and all Sunday listening to the that annoying beep....................[/QUOTE]I don't have prepaid but have helped a friend. You don't have to wait out the weekend. You can pay at ATMs (see [url]http://www.pln.co.id/?p=513[/url]), the receipt has the magic number, or you can pay at Indomaret where again, you get the printed receipt with the number.
Markit
If you have an indo bank account you can also pay online if you are in a covered area, probably Dumpassar or Ubud.
hinakos
Hi thankyou for all your responses. Here is the update. So it seemed my manager worked something out with the company but it still took 30 hours to get my power back onWe are getting a pulsa machine installed in a couple days because we are all certain something isn't right, either geting ripped off or someone taking it perhaps?So we got the bill down to 1 million which is still very high but hopefully from this point on (or from when we get the prepaid pulsa electricity) it will be under control[/QUOTE]Installing a different meter wont help if someone is stealing your power.Just because the neighbours lights stay on when you shut your power down doesn't mean they are not stealing it (Pumps, power points etc...you wont see any of this stuff go off...I had a neighbor stealing mine and it was connected to everything EXCEPT the lights)IF you really want to check...you need to leave your main breaker on (the little switch underneath your meter), and then turn EVERYTHING in your entire house OFF at the circuit breakers......and then check if your meter is still spinning. Even then its not 100%, as they may be tapped in after your breakers. Try turning your breakers on one at a time, but leave everything in your house OFF, then check and see when the meter starts spinning. This theft is most common when the person you are renting off (the landowner) lives in very close proximity to you - or his family does. Your bills have a kilowatt reading on them.Get successive bills and match them up. They should also have a rate (Rp) per kilowatt hour. Subtract the start from the finish (kilowatt hours) and you'll have x amount of kilowatt hours remaining. Multiply this by the kilowatt rate per hour to get your total. This will only tell you that PLN is not ripping you off...it wont tell you that your neighbors are not ripping you off. If your neighbors are ripping you off PLN don't care - they are still being paid for the electricity consumed.ITs not always that neighbors are ripping you off...sometimes poor connections underground "leak" electricity when conditions are moist or wet, then stop when it dries out. I found my neighbours were tapped in simply by starting at my meter and following all the outdoor cables....eventually I found one than ran next door and simply cut it (1 core at a time - with insulated sidecutters) and taped the live ends up. I was a sparky long ago so maybe making it sound a bit easier than it is....The neighbours actually had the hide to come and complain about this.....! "its for Bapak, he is old and life is difficult for him. And it is only for 1 light!" (yet the size of the cable running down there was big enough to power a small factory).Instead I reconnected him, but put a switch in line with his connection. We had always had a problem with his noisy dog....so whenever his dog barked, we turned his power off. After 1 year of putting up with the noisy dog.....it shut up pretty quickly.Our bill at that time (also paying for the neighbor) was around 1.2jt a month (pool, 2 aircon bedrooms,electric hot water which is the big cost, big fridge, garden lighting often on). When we switched him off it went down to about 750K a month. This was in Seminyak.Make sure your not screwing yourself even further by installing a pre-paid meter...PLN love these things and push to sell them big time....as no more meter reading for them - and the kilowatt per hour rate can be higher on these than on the old style meters - meaning you could be digging yourself further into the hole if your neighbors are in fact stealing.You need to ask PLN or who ever is installing your meter what the kilowatt per hour rate difference is between the new and old meters.....did they mention this when recommending you change to the new one?Happy hunting.
hinakos
Davita are you 100% certain that if you increase the KW capacity to your house the price per KW hour increases?You would imagine that this is how it is structured in a bid to get people to cut down, but I recently heard this is not the case any more - there is a flat rate for all meters (old style) up to 7700watts, and a flat rate for pre-paid.The only difference I heard of now was the pre-paid to old style meters now in regards to the Kw hr/Rp rate (the pre -paid being more expensive).You can track consumption on the pre paid meter and calculate your Kw hr / Rp rate. Need to record consumption (kw hours) and credit (Rp) when doing one top up to the next (and get a calculator). Subtract on from the other (individually for Kw hours, then for Rp) then divide Rp by Kw hours to get your rate.But who knows if there are "line rental" charges in there or "service" charges as well? Shouldn't be as meters are "purchased" here. You'd have to get PLN around to query a bill, show them that you knew what you were doing with regards to these calculations.....before they even BEGAN to start telling you the truth about how it all works. And you'd have to speak Indonesian - as many of their technicians don't speak English.
Gozer
davita Yeah, we just have the one place that I know of and it closes at "5" though that often means "they went to lunch and are not coming back" lol. Pulsa is not entirely what you use. I know because we have shut everything down and the credit keeps dropping.ronb Holy crap... You seriously just blew my mind I am so upset I didn't know about this before. I have spent so much money finding ways to entertain myself out of the house to avoid that beeping if I had known I could pay at an atm... well thank you that is the best piece of advice I have gotten since I moved here.hinakos I have had a power outage and the meter keeps spinning. I do not know what is going on with the power here but I know I complain about it a lot. I will be checking though to see if the neighbors are stealing. My wife's cousin lives next door so I would not be surprised at all we are family after all.
ronb
Davita are you 100% certain that if you increase the KW capacity to your house the price per KW hour increases?You would imagine that this is how it is structured in a bid to get people to cut down, but I recently heard this is not the case any more - there is a flat rate for all meters (old style) up to 7700watts, and a flat rate for pre-paid.The only difference I heard of now was the pre-paid to old style meters now in regards to the Kw hr/Rp rate (the pre -paid being more expensive)..............[/QUOTE]Yes there are different rate for different Kw caps. Looking at [url=http://www.pln.co.id/?p=7179]PERATURAN MENTERI ESDM NOMOR 30 TAHUN 2012 TENTANG TARIF TENAGA LISTRIK YANG DISEDIAKAN OLEH PERUSAHAAN PERSEROAN (PERSERO) PT. PERUSAHAAN LISTRIK NEGARA | PT PLN (Persero)[/url] with some help from Google translate, it would seem that domestic usage caps under 6600 Kw are subsidized, those over are not. The 2 lowest caps (450 Kw and 900 Kw) have not been increased this year, so are presumably heavily subsidised.
davita
Davita are you 100% certain that if you increase the KW capacity to your house the price per KW hour increases?You would imagine that this is how it is structured in a bid to get people to cut down, but I recently heard this is not the case any more - there is a flat rate for all meters (old style) up to 7700watts, and a flat rate for pre-paid.The only difference I heard of now was the pre-paid to old style meters now in regards to the Kw hr/Rp rate (the pre -paid being more expensive).You can track consumption on the pre paid meter and calculate your Kw hr / Rp rate. Need to record consumption (kw hours) and credit (Rp) when doing one top up to the next (and get a calculator). Subtract on from the other (individually for Kw hours, then for Rp) then divide Rp by Kw hours to get your rate.But who knows if there are "line rental" charges in there or "service" charges as well? Shouldn't be as meters are "purchased" here. You'd have to get PLN around to query a bill, show them that you knew what you were doing with regards to these calculations.....before they even BEGAN to start telling you the truth about how it all works. And you'd have to speak Indonesian - as many of their technicians don't speak English.[/QUOTE]The rates were all changed in April and I'm not sure what happened to the differentials, they used to be R1, R2, and R3 for residences depending on what KW was available...I'll search and come back if I find any new rates.My experience was..A year ago we bought this new house in Kerobokan and it already had a pre-paid meter. We also have an apartment in Jakarta and electricity is billed to us and includes many charges on top of the rate per KWH.So my wife was delighted to see our Bali meter tell her how much Rp she had left and started to manage the top-ups. I told her the meter doesn't measure Rps left...it measures KW's available before it switches off. She defiantly put another Rp100,000, using a voucher, and the meter jumped up another 100,000...so there, D-A, her eyes flashed.I didn't want to argue so went and had a beer!A month later we increased the power available from 5500KW to 7700KW with new wires and a new meter, they gave us credit for the outstanding amount left on the old meter, but it wasn't nearly as much as the old numbers. My wife, argued, but was told that each of the KW shown on the new meter would be at a higher rate than before as we upped the available power to R3...it just happened, the PLN guy explained, that the previous rate was around RP1.0/KW.Now, if my wife puts in Rp100,000 she only gets around +/-80,000 reading on the meter. I knew all this and delighted myself with 4 more beers.The only website I've found is this, but it's pretty useless...[url=http://www.pln.co.id/eng/]PT PLN (Persero) | Electricity For A Better Life[/url]@gozer...just read your post. I think you have to approach this from a technical perspective. If you switch OFF the main Circuit Breaker (C/B) at your meter, and it still spins, you should call PLN. Either the meter is faulty or someone has bypassed the Main C/B. This not only can be expensive but could be dangerous!
balibule
it would seem that domestic usage caps under 6600 Kw are subsidized, those over are not. T[/QUOTE]I think this is true. I just installed electricity and my contractor recommended 6600 Kw. Any higher I should just get a second meter (below 6600 Kw) which would keep me paying subsidized rates.Also, the 6600 Kw meter I have seems quite clever. With special number combinations I can pull up history for spending, consumption and a whole list of other things. I can even mute the beep if I wanted to.
