Electricity Bills: U.S.A. vs. Taiwan

My fellow Americans,
It was mentioned to me that the monthly electricity bills (for your average Joe) are higher here in Taiwan than in the U.S.A. I’m curious as to whether this is really true or not. I would really like to hear from a cross-section of you that have grown up and/or lived in different locales back home.

Thanx!, :slight_smile:
NorCal guy

Lets compare as scientifically as possible. We will need someone to examine their power bill in taiwan to compare.

This is my baseline usage and rate : Baseline Usage 201.60000 Kwh @ $0.12233

What is the baseline rate in TAiwan? My understanding is that electricity in Taiwan is double the price of that in the USA? Is that true?

I think in taiwan your rate increases as well if you exceed your allotted baseline amount, just like here in the bay area.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Guess nobody really cares :slight_smile:)

It’s definitely not true. That was my gut feeling. And it’s confirmed by this cool website I recently discovered.

numbeo.com/cost-of-living/co … Jose%2C+CA

According to that site, one month of basic utility charges for Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage is $42.33 in Taipei and $136.00 in San Jose. (Although, admittedly, that doesn’t reflect running aircon 24/7).

More interesting, look at the rent difference.
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre. Taipei: $520.21, San Jose $1,566.67

But interestingly, the situation is flipped for buying, due to Taipei’s crazy property bubble
Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment in City Centre. Taipei: $8,044.06, San Jose $3,767.37

And, this is interesting too. Apparently Taiwan’s lower cost of living is more than fully offset by the higher salaries in the Bay Area.
Median Monthly Disposable Salary (After Tax). Taipei: $1,485.00, San Jose $3,525.00

Well, I don’t really care, but if you used 201.60000 Kwh between 1 Feb. 2011 and 30 March 2011,your bill would have been NT$423. That’s US$14.47.

It looks to me that you are paying $24.66 in the US. If so, Taiwanese electricty is almost 60% cheaper.

I don’t know about everybody’s but my electricity bills here are lower than my electricity bills in the U.S.A.

[quote=“Feiren”]Well, I don’t really care, but if you used 201.60000 Kwh between 1 Feb. 2011 and 30 March 2011,your bill would have been NT$423. That’s US$14.47.

It looks to me that you are paying $24.66 in the US. If so, Taiwanese electricty is almost 60% cheaper.[/quote]

Wow how is that the case?? I always thought Taiwan electricity was double the US rate? Guess not.

By the way, my total energy bill for the month was about 100 dollars and about 75 of that was for gas. And to examine the case further:

My one bedroom apt is about i would say 28ping in size. Made of plasterboard (sheetrock) instead of concrete so much better insulated (wouldnt stand up to one of your 200mph foons tho). The place is heated to 25c 24/7 for the month and the house is heated by gas. Hot water heater also gas fired. I dont cook at home and there is no in unit washer/dryer either. So the electricity only powers lights, tv, computer and the sort.

Rent (east bay near concord) for comparison 1150/month includes water and garbage. This area is pretty nice so the rental is not the cheapest or the highest. Choice neighborhoods in the city of SAn Francisco itself would be closer to 2000/month. An apt in a nice area of Taipei wouldnt be cheap to rent either.

Gas is currently about 4.12 per gallon for regular (87 octane) for chevron or shell . NO name brand gasoline is about 20 cents/gallon less.

I assume a relatively large portion of the total bill in the US comes from taxes and fees. The per kWh rate may be similar or lower in the US, but I know fees are usually a lot higher in the US, which is what makes paying bills so painful.

I did post the component breakdown but thought nobody would be interested. I guess I can go and dig that up and repost it here.

For your edification and general edumacation as well.

Ok here goes:

Service
Service Dates
Amount
1-800-743-5000
Assistance is available by
telephone 24 hours per day,
7 days per week.

Local Office Address
1030 DETROIT AVE
CONCORD CA 94518

Gas
02/01/2011 To 03/02/2011
$68.52

Electric
02/01/2011 To 03/02/2011
26.43

Energy Commission Tax

0.06

Gas PPP Surcharge

5.37

TOTAL CURRENT CHARGES

$100.38

Previous Balance

113.03

02/22 Payment - Thank You

113.03

More details:

GAS ACCOUNT DETAIL
Service ID #:
Rate Schedule: G1 X Residential Service
Billing Days: 30 days
Prior Current
Serial Meter # Meter Read Meter Read Difference Multiplier Usage
3,830 3,892 62 1.030861 64 Therms
Charges
02/01/2011 - 02/28/2011
Gas Charges $64.34
Baseline Quantity 57.40000 Therms
Baseline Usage 57.40000 Therms @ $1.06707
Over Baseline Usage 2.33333 Therms @ $1.32646
Net Charges $64.34
PG&E’s Gas Procurement Cost (Rate Schedule G-CP) is $0.63475 / therm
Taxes and Other
Gas PPP Surcharge ($0.08400 / therm) $5.02
Charges
03/01/2011 - 03/02/2011
Gas Charges $4.18
Baseline Quantity 4.10000 Therms
Baseline Usage 4.10000 Therms @ $0.96776
Over Baseline Usage 0.16667 Therms @ $1.22715
Net Charges $4.18
PG&E’s Gas Procurement Cost (Rate Schedule G-CP) is $0.53544 / therm
Taxes and Other
Gas PPP Surcharge ($0.08400 / therm) $0.35
TOTAL CHARGES $73.89
Usage Comparison Days Billed Therms Billed Therms per Day
This Year 30 64 2.1
Last Year 32 58 1.8
Thank you for your support of PG&E’s Winter Gas Savings program. We appreciate your efforts to use
energy wisely and to practice energy conservation. Although our program accounted for extreme weather
conditions, unfortunately, based on your January and February 2011 gas usage, you did not qualify for the
credit this year. Your usage increased by 8.00%, compared to previous years. For tips on how to conserve
gas use, visit www.pge.com/wintergassavings. Thank you again for your efforts to conserve natural gas.
ELECTRIC ACCOUNT DETAIL
Service ID #:
Rate Schedule: E1 XB Residential Service
Billing Days: 30 days

Page 3 of 4

Rotating Prior Current Meter
Serial Outage Blk Meter # Meter Read Meter Read Difference Constant Usage
3,716 3,932 216 1 216 Kwh
Charges
02/01/2011 - 02/28/2011
Electric Charges $24.67
Baseline Quantity 352.80000 Kwh
Baseline Usage 201.60000 Kwh @ $0.12233
Net Charges $24.67
The net charges shown above include the following component(s).
Please see definitions on Page 2 of the bill.
Generation $7.47
Transmission 2.41
Distribution 7.83
Public Purpose Programs 3.08
Nuclear Decommissioning 0.13
DWR Bond Charge 1.02
Ongoing CTC 1.78
Energy Cost Recovery Amount 0.95
Taxes and Other
Energy Commission Tax $0.06
Charges
03/01/2011 - 03/02/2011
Electric Charges $1.76
Baseline Quantity 25.20000 Kwh
Baseline Usage 14.40000 Kwh @ $0.12233
Net Charges $1.76
The net charges shown above include the following component(s).
Please see definitions on Page 2 of the bill.
Generation $0.50
Transmission 0.24
Distribution 0.52
Public Purpose Programs 0.22
Nuclear Decommissioning 0.01
DWR Bond Charge 0.07
Ongoing CTC 0.13
Energy Cost Recovery Amount 0.07
TOTAL CHARGES $26.49
Usage Comparison Days Billed Kwh Billed Kwh per Day
This Year 30 216 7.2
Last Year 32 284 8.9
Rotating outage blocks are subject to change without advance notice due to operational conditions.
Generation includes charges for the portion of your energy usage provided by the Department of Water
Resources (DWR) and collected by PG&E as DWR’s agent. In 2011, DWR projects to return $280 million
to bundled customers. The average amount returned for each kWh of energy provided by DWR is projected
to be 10.873 cents. DWR also collects the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment component of the Cost
Responsibility Surcharge from CCA, Direct Access and Transitional Bundled Service customers.
The rates shown above are applicable to bundled service customers. Direct Access and Community Choice
Aggregation customers pay only a portion of these rates. Please see the appropriate rate schedule for the
applicable charges.