Is condo electricity more expensive than a house?

With its own utility meter the rate is identical to any house — there is no special condo tariff. Two things usually create the impression of a higher price: the common-area fee being counted in, and a small unit running air-conditioning hard so that its units fall into the more expensive tiers.

Can the common-area fee be converted into a per-unit electricity price?

It should not be. The fee is charged on your unit's square metres, is unrelated to the units you consume, and covers far more than power — security staff, cleaning and maintenance among them. Dividing it back into baht-per-unit produces a meaningless figure and creates a false impression of over-charged electricity.

Can a unit owner charge 8 THB per unit?

That is clearly above the 4.88 THB/unit ceiling in the 2025 OCPB notification, and roughly double what the utility itself charges. The principle is that a lessor may not profit from electricity, and a lease clause setting a price above the ceiling has no legal effect. If this is your situation, gather evidence and follow the complaint process.

How do I tell whether my unit has a utility meter or a sub-meter?

Look at the receipt first. A utility invoice carries a customer number, a meter number, and separate line items for Ft and VAT. A bill from the juristic person or the owner usually shows only “units used × price per unit”. If still unsure, ask the juristic person in whose name the unit's utility meter is registered.

Is switching to a TOU meter worth it in a condo?

It depends on whether enough of your consumption falls outside on-peak hours, and on whether the unit holds its own utility meter — with a landlord's sub-meter you cannot switch at all. If you do hold your own meter, the decision criteria are at is a TOU meter worth it.

Is condo water billed the same way as electricity?

The structure is similar in that water can also come either from a direct utility meter or through the juristic person or owner. The water rates themselves, however, come from the Metropolitan or Provincial Waterworks Authority and are a separate schedule from electricity, so this page does not quote water figures rather than mix rates from two different systems.

Condo Residents + Power Cost

Condo Electricity Cost in Thailand 2026 — and how to tell if you are being over-charged

Name: CapSolar
Address: 429/44 Sukhonthasawat Rd, Lat Phrao, Bangkok, 10230, TH
Telephone: +66 2 124 5414
Price range: $$$$

"How many baht per unit is condo electricity?" is the most-searched form of this question, and it has no single answer: a condominium can bill power in three different ways, each under a different set of rules. This page separates them, gives the real number for each, and shows what to do if yours is above it.

7 min readLast updated: 1 Aug 2026Rates as of: May–Aug 2026

Condo electricity depends on who issues your bill — there is no special "condo tariff". If your unit has its own MEA/PEA meter and the bill is in the unit's name, you are the utility's own residential customer and pay the ordinary progressive tariff: at 200 units a month that works out to about 4.04 THB/unit once the Ft of 0.1623 THB, the 24.62 THB service charge and 7% VAT are included, rising to roughly 4.26 THB/unit at 300 units. If instead the unit owner bills you, that is a resale of electricity — and under the 2025 OCPB (สคบ.) notification a residential-building lessor may not add a profit margin above the utility rate, with a ceiling of 4.88 THB/unit. The common-area fee is a separate thing entirely: it is charged per square metre to run lifts, pumps and corridors, it is not the electricity inside your unit, and it should never be folded into a "per-unit" electricity figure. Full residential rate ladder at how many baht per unit 2026; if you rent, compare with rental room and dorm electricity.

A condo can bill power in three ways — work out which one you are on

The fastest test is to look at whose name the receipt is issued in, and whether it carries a utility invoice number. A meter number plus an MEA/PEA invoice number means you pay the utility directly. A receipt from the juristic person or from the owner means there is an intermediary — and that is exactly where the ceiling rule starts to apply.

Path 1 — the utility meter is in your unit

Most common where units are individually owned. You are an ordinary residential customer of MEA/PEA on the same progressive ladder as any Thai household, plus the 0.1623 THB/unit Ft, the 24.62 THB monthly service charge (for households above 150 units) and 7% VAT. Nobody can add a margin, because there is no intermediary.

Path 2 — the unit owner bills you

Seen in leased units: the owner reads a sub-meter and issues the bill. That is a resale of electricity. Under the 2025 OCPB notification a residential-building rental business may not charge above the utility rate and may not add profit, with a 4.88 THB/unit ceiling; a lease clause exceeding it has no legal effect.

Path 3 — the common-area fee (not your unit's power)

The condominium juristic person charges a common-area fee at a per-square-metre rate on your unit's area, to pay for lift power, water pumps, corridor lighting, security systems and other shared operations. It is not tied to the units of electricity you consume and should not be divided back into a “per-unit” electricity figure for your room.

A caution: whether a given lessor counts as a “residential-building rental business” under the OCPB notification is a determination the OCPB makes — it is not something to infer from a room count. If in doubt, the OCPB on 1166 will answer for free. Tenant rights in detail: rental and dorm electricity law 2026.

So what is the real number — the three benchmarks side by side

The table is computed from the actual residential tariff (progressive tiers + Ft 0.1623 + service charge + 7% VAT) at monthly consumption levels typical of a condo. The middle column is what you should pay if the unit holds its own utility meter. The right column is the maximum a re-billing owner may charge. A bill above the right column is above the ceiling.

Condo electricity: real per-unit cost versus the resale ceiling
Monthly use	Real cost/unit (own utility meter)	Ceiling if the owner re-bills
150 units	3.93 THB	4.88 THB
200 units	4.04 THB	4.88 THB
250 units	4.17 THB	4.88 THB
300 units	4.26 THB	4.88 THB

Read the table correctly: the middle figure is not a fixed unit price but the whole bill divided by units, so it rises with consumption because the residential tariff is progressive — 200 units costs about 808 THB in total, 300 units about 1277 THB. The 3.95 THB/unit figure often quoted in the news is the average of the entire power system, not any one household's rate. For your own unit's number, enter your monthly units in the electricity bill calculator.

Four checks on whether your condo bill is reasonable

Work through these in order. It takes under ten minutes and leaves you with usable evidence if you have to raise it with the owner or file a complaint.

Look at the receipt first. Does it carry an MEA/PEA invoice number and a meter number? If yes you are on Path 1 and no margin is possible. If not, you are on Path 2 — read on.

Separate the common-area fee from electricity. It is charged per square metre, not per unit. Adding the two together and dividing by units makes the figure look inflated immediately.

Read the meter yourself two months running. This month's figure minus last month's is the units actually used; compare it against the units billed. How to read it: reading an electricity meter.

Compare your per-unit price against the 4.88 THB ceiling. An owner charging 7–8 THB/unit is plainly above it, and roughly double what the utility itself would charge. Quick check: the rental electricity checker.

If the check shows you are over the ceiling, do not simply stop paying the whole bill — collect the evidence first, then follow the process in how to report over-charged rental electricity.

What the first-200-units-at-3.00-THB measure means for a condo

The announced relief measure caps the energy charge on the first 200 units at 3.00 THB/unit. That figure is the **energy charge only** — it excludes Ft, the monthly service charge and VAT. A household using exactly 200 units pays about 3.52 THB/unit all-in under the measure, not 3.00. And the benefit lands on the utility's bill, so if your unit is on Path 2 the saving reaches the owner first; whether your own price falls depends on whether the owner passes it through — and either way the 4.88 THB/unit ceiling still applies. Detail: the 200-unit 3.00-THB measure for tenants.

Who wrote this

Frank Lee, Founder of CapSolar — a commercial solar design-and-build company in Thailand with 80+ MWp installed across 150+ projects, 100+ clients served and 85K+ tons of CO₂ avoided. Reading real building electricity bills and tariff structures is weekly work here, so this page is written from the bill structure itself rather than from news summaries.

FAQ

There is no single number. If the unit has its own utility meter you pay the residential tariff, which including Ft, service charge and VAT works out at about 3.93 THB/unit at 150 units and about 4.26 THB/unit at 300 units. If the owner re-bills you, the 2025 OCPB ceiling is 4.88 THB/unit with no profit permitted.

Own the building, or run the juristic person? Common-area power can come down

Lifts, water pumps and corridor lighting run all day — exactly the load a rooftop solar array matches best. CapSolar will assess for free whether it pays off for your building.

Talk to our teamor call +66 2 124 5414