Thread: Getting Power - What's It Going To Cost Me?

So this piece of land I am considering buying has these power lines going by it - about 125 meters away from the property. Looks like they are high voltage lines that lead to a village several kilometers up the road. There are no houses nearby.

My question is..., how difficult (expensive) is it to tap into these lines to supply a house? I assume I will need a transformer. Do I have to pay for that? Anyone have experience with this type of situation?

Cheers.

very easy ,one of my neighbours did it whilst all was live and burnt all the toes off his left foot . he is bery chearfull about it and laughs it off when we raise the issue .he walks with a limp now .

Originally Posted by wimpy

My question is..., how difficult (expensive) is it to tap into these lines to supply a house? I assume I will need a transformer. Do I have to pay for that?

You'd better go to the power company and ask them if you want a reliable answer, but yes you will definitely need a transformer.

I expect that you will have to pay for the transformer, that is the normal practise here and for the 125meter low-voltage line to your house.
Estimate ~75.000 baht for transformer and mounting material (high voltage fuses, fuse holders, concrete beams for transformer and fuse pack ) and ~50.000baht for 6-7 concrete poles and cable for the low-voltage line.

Originally Posted by lom

Originally Posted by wimpy

My question is..., how difficult (expensive) is it to tap into these lines to supply a house? I assume I will need a transformer. Do I have to pay for that?

You'd better go to the power company and ask them if you want a reliable answer, but yes you will definitely need a transformer.

I expect that you will have to pay for the transformer, that is the normal practise here and for the 125meter low-voltage line to your house.
Estimate ~75.000 baht for transformer and mounting material (high voltage fuses, fuse holders, concrete beams for transformer and fuse pack ) and ~50.000baht for 6-7 concrete poles and cable for the low-voltage line.

bullshit.
if you paid that then you got ripped off.

you fukkn DEFINITELY don't need a transformer unless you want three phase and then possibly not even.
i ran an entire fukkn fishfarm off a 10 amp meter which cost me around 3000 thb
and did the rest myself, including casting and installing my own concrete pole, total cost including REAL circuit breakers, overhead lines, plus the "mandatory" 30 amp fuse holder:
less than 10000 baht

the fukkn "inspector" didn't understand the earth leakage and overload protection i installed, and wouldn't sign off the job until i installed the silly (and dangerous) standard porcelain fuse-holder! (complete with thick copper wire bypass in the case of thai installation!)
how many thais in your moo-baan have their own transformer?

Originally Posted by tsicar

you fukkn DEFINITELY don't need a transformer unless you want three phase and then possibly not even.

It is not a matter of how many phases one wants, the power line in the OP's picture is a high-voltage line and anyone with a bit of basic electric knowledge is able to see that.
The voltage which it carries can be anything between 10-36 KiloVolt.
The bullshit is yours as usual.

You need a trafo. Those lines DO NOT carry 220V! More like 10k. And thats gonna be the expensive part in this deal. Might be cheaper to buy your own solar panels...

Originally Posted by tsicar

go to the electricity dept. draw a map and detail where the nearest concrete electricity pole is from your property. you may have to pay for a concrete pole or so to get it nearer to your land.

They will send a man to look at your circumstances. You will need a transformer but don't buy it from the electric Company. Send a native speaker to haggle for a good price. Don't be tempted to do the installation yourself.

Originally Posted by lom

the power line in the OP's picture is a high-voltage line

looks like single phase to me

As noted, looks like low voltage line, so electric company can bring power to meter on one of their poles and then you pay for meter, line, poles and installation from there to where you want electric.

As has been mentioned, that's a high voltage line and you will need a transformer. I had PEA install one a little over a year ago. The high voltage line ran along the edge of our property and I added 2 more poles and had them mount the transformer well inside our property so there'd be no questions later about who owned the it. Total cost was 170K baht. I went with PEA instead of hiring a private contractor because we're far enough out in the country I was worried about getting the transformer serviced if there was a problem. It seemed like a pretty high price but I checked with others in the area that had their own transformers and that's about the going rate in Udon. One additional issue is that transformer theft can be a problem. The land is a KM or so from the nearest village and PEA didn't want to install it until we had someone staying on the property.

Those lines ARE 11 to 33 KV. Transformer required? Yes. Cost? Dunno.

Originally Posted by the dogcatcher

One additional issue is that transformer theft can be a problem.

Another is transformers in Thailand with all the electrical storms will be damaged by lightning strikes. Expect to replace or repair in a regular basis.

Thank you all for the information.

There is one house about 1.5 kilometers away. Their lines (two wires lower down on the poles) run about another kilometer to a village where they connect to a transformer. So, I would say the lines pictured must be high voltage, as that house didn't simply connect to them.

I am looking at two pieces of property. This one is three rai for about 240,000 baht. The other is five rai for 500,000 baht, but it has low voltage lines 20 meters away.

All of the sudden the five rai is looking like the way to go. Especially since the property will only be occupied part time. I would not be at all happy if someone ran off with my 100,000+ baht transformer! The 5 rai also has chanote title rather than NS3G.

Originally Posted by lom

The voltage which it carries can be anything between 10-36 KiloVolt.

can you run your own power plant with that ?

Originally Posted by the dogcatcher

Those lines ARE 11 to 33 KV. Transformer required? Yes. Cost? Dunno.

take another look at just how thick the cables in the picture are.

you may be correct though, since this is thailand, after all!

if you wanted a 60 amp supply they would connect you via a transformer from the heavy stuff, but this looks like the normal village low voltage stuff they connect everybody else to.

Looks like single phase LT - check with a meter at your nearest neighbours house to see what voltage they get - might be really low and give you lots of trouble later on down the line with your electric goods - TV fridge etc. This happens alot in the sticks.

If its HT you will need a transformer. Surge protection is a must and not expensive - just doing a 250A 3 phase supply for less than 10k

I'm pretty sure they are high voltage, as the nearest house went to the trouble and expense of running lines about a kilometer to the nearest village (and transformer) rather than just connecting to the lines I photographed.

I assume your 10k didn't include a transformer - correct?

Originally Posted by tsicar

take another look at just how thick the cables in the picture are.

Yes, that is one of the hints that they are high voltage lines.
Another hint is the size of the ceramic isolators, and yet another one is the place where the cables are hanging on the pole.


As Baldrick pointed out, it is a 1-phase high voltage line - a small village without heavy consumers doesn't need 3-phase so there is money to save on the cable.

Originally Posted by wimpy

I'm pretty sure they are high voltage, as the nearest house went to the trouble and expense of running lines about a kilometer to the nearest village (and transformer) rather than just connecting to the lines I photographed.

Don't worry, you are right in your assumption so don't listen to the fish farmer.

Duh HT NOT LT
10k just for surge protection - no more fried UPS or the like

Best start getting quotes for a tranny!

Originally Posted by wimpy

Or, is it customary to reimburse the homeowner if I connect to these lines?

Most likely depends on where his meter is, if it is on the last pole they are EGAT poles, if his meter is at the other end where the lines come from, then they are his poles and wire.

Originally Posted by tsicar

go to the electricity dept.

without racking your brain any further...the most logical and surest way is the above members answer ...to your oringnal question..from my own experience... have taken this route 66 highway..to very satisfactory results.....without going into... boring details..they will send a rep....to take a look...and then ...will give you a quote on your particular case... then its over to you

hi guys i need help we built a house its 700 meters from the pole supply and works fine i paid for all the poles and cabling to our house we had a construction meter and the pea web site says after the house is finished we show the new house book and then we get the meter changed for the better rate domestic meter but they wont change our meter becouse we are more that 25 meters from the pole i said what differance does it make every thing is working fine i cant find any ref on the internet about this so called 25 meter rule so we are paying twice as much as any body else spoke to pea c/s they said they did not know do any of you guys have any ideas on this thanks

hi guys i need help we built a house its 700 meters from the pole supply and works fine i paid for all the poles and cabling to our house we had a construction meter and the pea web site says after the house is finished we show the new house book and then we get the meter changed for the better rate domestic meter but they wont change our meter becouse we are more that 25 meters from the pole i said what differance does it make every thing is working fine i cant find any ref on the internet about this so called 25 meter rule so we are paying twice as much as any body else spoke to pea c/s they said they did not know do any of you guys have any ideas on this thanks