Menu
Expat.com

Typical monthly electricity bill

Last activity 05 August 2017 by enatan

Post new topic

Limatta

Hello all,

I plan to move to KL mid next year, as an expat but actual utility bills are to be paid by myself, after being budgeted into my salary.

How much would one need to budget for electricity bill for a 2,500~3,500sq ft home in KL?
I understand that water bills are paid by the owner.

I want to use the air conditioner liberally as I really want to stay cool at home.

Thank you.

abdulkhalil

It really all depends on how many aircons you will use and how often. 2500 - 3500 sq ft is quite large so you might be spending perhaps RM600 - 1200 per month, but it really depends on you. Use them less then you might only spend RM300 - 500 per month. My own bill used to be around RM800 per month for a 1750 sq ft apartment and I used one 2.5hp a/c in the living room, a 2hp a/c in the master bedroom and 1.5hp a/c's in the two other bedrooms. At night we used 2 aircons.

Water bills are usually paid by the tenants, not by the owner. The owner pays the sewerage bill (Indah Water) but in most cases the tenant pays the water bill. Some condos absorb the water bills into the management fees, but that is rare. But water bills are not very high. It's the electricity bill that is the big bill.

Limatta

Thanks for the quick reply, Abdul.

I already have a condo in mind(bangsar), one that's owned by a relative and willing to rent at slightly cheaper rate than market price.
Actual size is 3.6k sq ft.

I am timing my move so that the current renting tenant can vacate and get the unit cleaned up before we move in.

iskandarhack

My average is about RM550-600 for a 1300 sq foot terrace house. I also use my AC very liberally since I grew up in Minnesota (USA) and have never really come to love very hot weather for relaxing at home or sleeping. I use a 2.5 HP in living room/dining room combined, and a 1.5 HP in two of the bedrooms. At night we only have one on, but during the day I may run two a lot (one bedroom is my home office). Our water bill is typically only RM6 per month, so nothing to worry about. The other large utility is our phone/internet/TV, which is about RM280 per month. (UniFi).

Limatta

Awesome, so budgeting RM1,000 would be reasonable. :)

Thanks a lot!

iskandarhack

Limatta wrote:

Awesome, so budgeting RM1,000 would be reasonable. :)

Thanks a lot!


Yes, RM1000 is about right. There's also a sewage bill that comes quarterly (we own our house, so it may go to the owners), but it's only RM100 or so. I think they're also a couple of other yearly bills (property tax and we're leasehold so the year lease payment), but combined those are less than RM400.

enatan

It should be around RM500 per month for the electricity expenses.

Articles to help you in your expat project in Kuala Lumpur

All of Kuala Lumpur's guide articles