1-8-2023 (BANGKOK) The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has issued an official apology to Apassanant Pattharapisithorn, a small hotel owner in Koh Samui district, Surat Thani, after mistakenly calculating her electricity usage and sending an astronomical bill of over 11 million baht last month.
The error came to light when Ms. Apassanant posted a snapshot of the jaw-dropping bill for July on a dedicated Thai consumer protection website. The bill indicated that her eight-room hotel had consumed a staggering 5,099,939.87 units of electricity, leading to the eye-popping charge of 11,780,004.62 baht (S$69,120.52).
In stark contrast, Ms. Apassanant asserted that her hotel typically pays a much more modest electricity bill ranging between 30,000 to 50,000 baht (S$1,900). Concerned about the discrepancy, she immediately contacted the Koh Samui PEA call centre for clarification. However, her attempt to seek an explanation was thwarted as she was directed to an automated voicemail, which asked her to call back after the holiday weekend on Thursday.
Frustrated and anxious, Ms. Apassanant took to Facebook to express her dismay, sharing her ordeal with the public. She expressed her concern about the call centre’s response, stating, “[Koh Samui PEA’s] call centre said that I have to wait until Aug 3 to hear back from them. I’m really concerned.”
Following the viral social media coverage of Ms. Apassanant’s predicament, Thanaphan Tiasuwan, the director-general of PEA’s Communication Affairs Division, intervened and addressed the issue. PEA officials discussed the billing error with Ms. Apassanant, acknowledging the mistake.
According to the PEA’s explanation, the error arose from an employee inputting a digit incorrectly, which led to the erroneous total charge. The PEA expressed regret for the inconvenience caused and assured Ms. Apassanant that her corrected bill for July would amount to 46,878.20 baht, a far cry from the initially staggering figure.
The incident has raised concerns about the accuracy of billing systems and the importance of efficient customer service. The PEA has promised to implement measures to prevent similar mishaps in the future and to improve their response times to customer inquiries.
