I just paid my electric bill for February 2012 and I thought we all might all learn one or two things from it … aside from the obvious one “How Much Does it Cost For Electricity Living in the Philippines”?
One thing that might strike some of you is that even though this bill looks very different from the bill you get at home, like many things here in the Philippines, it’s really pretty mundane.
What it Costs to Keep Your Cool (click on the image for a larger view)
There’s a meter on the front of my house. Once a month a meter reader comes by and writes down the numbers. In a while after the meter reader’s visit, a bill comes to my front gate (by messenger, normally) and on or before the due date, I have to pay it. As in the US, there are a number of ways to pay … in my case I do it the same way I did in the US … I log onto my bank’s Internet Bill Pay service, type in the amount, enter the date I want it paid and press “Accept”. The bill is paid. Easy-peasy.
I could also pay by writing a check to the electric company, by authorizing them to automatically debiting my account, or by going to their local office and paying the cashier by check or cash. In addition,we have something here many of you aren’t familiar with “Bayad” (literally “Pay”) centers all over town and at a special counter in the local SM Department Store, where you can pay your Philippine electric bill (and most other bills) in cash, over the counter.
I bring this up, mainly because I get questions and comments all the times when folks considering a move to the Philippines seem to think moving here is akin to moving to another planet or something even to the extent that they wouldn’t be able to function without a Filipino “translator” or helper or some-such, just to pay bills and do the same things you do every month back there at your foreign home.
Well, as I think you can see (click on the image of the bill for a larger view), you can take care of things like this all by yourself (unless, for some reason you can’t figure out how to pay a bill back in Omaha or Orlando or Ottumwa).
Some things worth noting:
First question some of you will have is the name on the bill. Who is that? Well, welcome to the Philippines. Miguel (Migs) Rosario is the gentleman who originally owned my house, who used to rent it to me and who sold it to my wife and I. Why is the electric bill still in his name?
Mainly because changing it is just too complicated, and with Mr. Rosario in the USA, it’s even more compicated-er. So, we simplify life.
The electric company could care less. They get paid, they keep the current flowing. If payment stops the power stops and it doesn’t get turned on again until they have cash in hand. It matters not who ran up the bill, the person who wants it turned on will pay.
Second: This is something to keep in mind especially with rental property. Before you order, say, a telephone line turned on, find out if there is any balance owed, because YOU will be responsible for it. Much better to leave the utilities in the landlord’s name and just pay the bill.
Third: You get a lot of detail and pay a lot of tax in the Philippines. At the peso rate of 24 Feb 2011, the total of this bill comes to $96.97. The tax is $9.32 … nearly 10%, plus there are a ton of hidden taxes being passed on in other areas of the total.
Fourth: The cost (total) per kilowatt-hour comes up to about $0.27 per kilowatt hour.
Fifth: For long-term budgeting I find a very useful figure net to the little monthly comparison bar chart on the right center. Over 12 months about 400 KWh per month which costs me $3.59 USD per day. This has been relatively consistent. Back in 2006 when I first started paying Philippine electric bills it was about $3.30 a day.
Anyway, hope that helps you budget a bit for the future and gives you a little more insight into what it takes to live in the Philippines.
Later, folks, time to get up and turn on the air conditioner ;-)
WOW! Your bill 4 times higher than mine. I am paying about 50% of my bill in the States. I had it down to 50 dollars per month back in Michigan. Last bill here?? 23 dollars. NO, I don’t live in a Nipa hut. Have a nice two story apartment. 2 bedroom 2 CR. About 60 sq meters in size. Life is swell in Tagum City, Davao Del Norte, Mindanao.
73,
Gary — Kuya Ed on Facebook
Yep. They say that living here in the Metro Manila area costs more … perhaps they are right
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Our house is slightly larger, but not by much, three bedrooms, 1 CR and that bill includes 1 of my 1 horse air conditioners ruining about 18 hours a day. We run the bedroom air conditioner every night, and during my online working hours I typically have the aircon in the computer room on.
It will get higher in the next couple months, summer is nearly here.
You can be happy to know Dave that your bill is just a thousand pesos lower than mine! LOL! :p With a child and my Kano Asawa at home, the aircondition is ON 24/7! The rest of the house is not airconditioned. :p
We have three bedrooms, two bathrooms. The aircondition is 1 HP split-type aircondition that is on at 24 degrees 24/7.
We have a gas stove, so no usage there. The microwave only gets turned on in the morning (for the cereal) and evening for my boy’s warm water sponge bath. Sterilizer and coffeemaker is on also but not for the entire day. Two electric fans (one downstair that is hardly used – Mama feels cool without the fan on) and another fan for my brother.
One laptop is on 24/7. Mine is hardly on these days. :p Two TVs (one LED and one LCD). Lights are not on until the evening. Overall, even at that rate, it still isn’t bad for a 24/7 aircondition.
Sounds like anot too basd bill to me. I’m looking to see what this coming month’s is going to e, as because of some work we are having done on the house, I have spent a lot more time outside the airconned room. I wonder how having two fans going 12 hours at atime compares to running the aircon. We shall see.
It has been a big help thanks i allways did wonder what it did cost in phils.
I must say if i read your story’s here , wel i live in belgium , we pay lot more … normal family will pay 150€ / monthly. for electricity tax is 3times as high.
its too bad on terms of electricity in the philippines.
mainly because they dont have nuclear power plant.
it is relatively higher to generate power using coal, oil, etc, compared to nuclear.
it wont happen because of oligarchy and monopoly of power distribution.
they wont allow it, and government of the philippines will just adhere to them
because of greed and money that they can get to certain powerful families.
Hi Jay,
\
Thanks for writing in. I have to say, though, that I disagree with you on the nuclear power plant issue. It is not the answer.
Japan, for example, generates a large percentage of it’s electricity with nuclear, and it has by far the most expensive electric on earth. (That ~400KWh example bill I showed here would cost about $300 USD in Japan, not the ~90 USD it costs in the Philippines)
.
The real answer, especially for the Philippines, is solar and geothermal. Did you know the Philippines is the world leader in geothermal power production? Yet to hear the government and college professors talk, you would think the Philippines is still rubbing sticks together for fire.
Even most Filipinos (your letter is a good example), have no idea how advanced they are in this field. Nuclear is a ship that has long sailed, in my view.
We are in perfect agreement though on the undesirability of more dangerous, polluting coal plants. Eespecially since that would bring the Philippines further under the yoke of China.
And, for future reference, please don’t use any family names. I edoit the one you used out. Unlike the ideal, in reality the Philippines is not a free country at all, people get sued regularly for allowing anything powerful people don’t like … and I would prefer to stay out of court, thank you.
not to mention that japan air is terrible due to how they make there elecric
Dave,
Power is power you need it they got it you pay for it. It’s as simple as that unless your a candlestick maker.
Unless you just go around the rascals. Hopefully, within the next few months, we are building a new kitchen tacked on the back of our house. Still some uncertainties along the way but one thing I’m pretty certain about … the lighting will be 100% solar/battery/LED. Mita may still need power for her Kitchen-Aid mixer and as of now the fridge will still be on commercial power, but I am going to whittle the problem down to size, piece by piece.
I am helping a family in Taguig with their electric bills. They are very poor. They have 5 fans, no air conditioning and old style TV, maybe 25 inches. They also have a stereo system with speakers. They do not have a refrigerator. They cook using propane.They light their house with electric single florescent tube lights maybe 4 to 6 feet long. I would guess they have maybe 6 to 8 of these lights in the house. They have a desktop computer with an old style monitor and it is on maybe 20 hours a day. They have what is called a sub-meter that connects to a neighbors house. They tell me their electric bill is 4,600 pesos a month. Can anyone tell me if this seems high to you, and if so what do you pay for your appliances? Thank you April 22, 2013
@ Joel
Interesting question, Joel. Going through your list, they are configured in a manner that’s going to cause a lot of consumption.
5 fans will use as much as a small air-conditioner.
A tube type TV is way more wasteful than a flat screen.
Old computers and tube type monitors are bad consumers too
And the old florescent are very wasteful also.
Their consumption sounds comparable to mine, with at least one aircon running most of the day. It’s now red hot summer here, you know. April and May are the peak months.
So it’s hard for me to say if things are reasonable or not.
I have been in a position of helping a family out a couple times with electric bills. I did it only if they showed me the actual bill and I then paid the electric company direct through my online bank account. Once I started paying their bill directly, and not handing over cash, the need went away in a month or so. Interesting. I do the same thing with request to help with school tuition and such. Pay the school directly and things suddenly get a whole lot more organized.
I’m not familiar at all with the sub-meter setup you are talking about. It may be legal but it sounds and awful lot to me like one homeowner making himself an illegal activity by hooking other people up to his service. Proceed with caution.