Thai MEA stops issuing unusually high bills to 27,000 flood-hit users
Flooding prevented meter readings, leading to bills based on past usage. The 27,000 affected customers billed this way do not need to pay yet.
- Thailand's Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) has deferred power bill payments for 27,000 customers in flood-affected areas.
- The issue arose because high floodwaters prevented staff from reading meters, leading an automated system to issue unusually high bills based on past usage averages.
- Customers who received these inaccurate bills are instructed not to pay them yet.
- The MEA will re-read the meters and issue corrected bills once flood conditions return to normal.
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) said on its Facebook page that it had suspended the issuance of unusually high electricity bills affecting 27,000 customers in flooded areas.
MEA offered its deepest apologies to electricity customers in flood-affected areas who had received bill notifications showing unusually high or abnormal amounts, causing concern among residents.
High floodwaters had prevented staff from entering affected areas to read electricity meters.
The automated system therefore calculated bills using average past consumption, producing charges that did not reflect the actual reduction in electricity use during the flooding.
MEA said it had ordered the suspension of billing based on average consumption in affected areas.
The 27,000 customers already billed using historical averages do not need to pay those bills yet.
MEA said it would verify consumption and read meters again once flood conditions returned to normal.
It is also continuing to consider and draw up further relief measures for those affected.
MEA apologised for the inconvenience and affirmed its commitment to supporting residents and continuing to ease the impact on them.
Customers with questions about their electricity bills can contact the MEA Call Centre on 1130, which operates 24 hours a day.
