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Hey
I would like to know what does ICE charge per kilowatt hour???
My eyes hurt going thru that other post. I am on Bandera Beach.
StanMy understanding is that ICE’s rates for electricity vary with the number of kilowatt hours used each month. The more you use, the higher the overall rate. And the rate went up this month.
You local ICE office should be able to help.
I have the 2008 rates in front of me.For the first 200KWH it costs 43 colones per hour.
This is/was about 9 cents an hour. Same as the “low hour use” Miami.Mas o menos.Here’s where they “kill da gringo”.
Anything OVER 200 KWH is/was 67 cents.8 times what you pay in Miami.
It gets better. Anything more than 500 Kwh increases substantially over that amount. I’ll see if I can find the number and post it.
The rates have also gone way up over the 2008 numbers I posted.Lemme put it this way.
I have a super efficient fridge, a hot water tank that only cuts on for an hour at 3 AM. An idiot box that’s on for 2 or 3 hours per day, tops.
The computer is on about 12 hours.
The microwave heats up the cleaning lady’s lunch for thirty seconds a day.Gas stove.
All of my lights are the compact fluorescents.
I have no heat, no AC, no water well pump, solar landscape lighting, no extra freezer.
I do have a washer and drier that do about 4 loads every Friday.I have this months bill in my hand. 630 Kwh for 73,118 colones. $ 131.44.
In Miami, 630 Kwh would run me $75.55 today.
It’s roughly double here for an average house.
Far, far, more if you have AC a pool, deep freezer, jacuzzi, flood lights etc.My farm in fl used 4000Kwh/month.
If I tried that here it would cost me around $900 dollars or so.
But look at the quality service and what they have to spend on coal, diesel and the nuclear plant maintenance, upkeep on the fleet of bucket trucks…Lineman making 100 grand a year …..LOL:roll:Somebody is making a bundle.
I will give them credit for plugging away with the reforestation projects,nurseries and broadband work.
They do the very best they can with the bureaucrat idiots that control the place.That’s what happens when you give semi literate grass cutters a desk and a title. They become mini-Hugo’s
[i]Someone recently posted[/i] a link to access a site showing the cost of electricity per klw. but I can’t find it, now that I want to look at it.
Does anyone know ‘where this is’?From everything I have read on this site it sounds like electricity can become quite costly if you have more than the most minimal usage. We were wondering about the possibility of utilizing solar energy, to at least minimize the ongoing costs. Does anyone have experience with using solar option in CR?
[quote=”Joan&Troy”]From everything I have read on this site it sounds like electricity can become quite costly if you have more than the most minimal usage. We were wondering about the possibility of utilizing solar energy, to at least minimize the ongoing costs. Does anyone have experience with using solar option in CR?[/quote]
Sir and Madam
I have seen some do it yourself solar panels you can make very cheaply in Green Magazines like Mother Earth News. Only $16.95 to CR. I think with the breezes the country has you would be better offf with the wind. However I don’t know how high you could go without a permit. If you are building make sure you use a competent engineer like Leo Barrantes. He has designed my houses with special eves to enhance the wind; even by the beachStan
BBEStan, are these do-it-yourself solar panels for heating water or are they photovoltaic panels for converting sunlight to electricity? If the latter, can you point us to someplace where you’ve seen the plans, please?
Regardless, I highly recommend that you install a solar hot water heater. They’re a little pricey at the beginning, but the life-cycle energy (and cost) savings will be dramatic.
Electric Rates are very high in Costa Rica, especially difficult in the beach areas where air conditioning is essential. The new 2010 ICE electric rate increases (per ICE and published in La Gaceta, are here, effective January 1, 2010:
For residential service, the first 200 KW-hours costs 59 colones per KWH.
For the next 201 to 300 KW-hours, it costs you 107 colones per KWH used over 200.
Then for each additional KW-hour, it costs you 147 colones per each KWH used over 300.
This amount is called the Subtotal Energia.
There is also a public service charge (road lighting, intersections, public areas, night security lighting) that costs you 3 colones for each KWH used in that monthly period.
In addition, all residential accounts using more than 250 KWH per month are charged an additional 5 percent tax, which is the Subtotal Energia amount times 5 percent. Then the Subtotal Energia plus the 5 percent tax equals your Total Bill amount.Solar energy options are available and are becoming popular as the electricity rates have increased more than 40% over the past 3 years.
I am glad to review solar hot water heating options and photovoltaic electric panel solutions to supplement or replace grid power. The newer solar equipment is more efficient these days and systems are now being installed with pay back in several (2.5 – 4) years.
To answer the original question, the first step of reducing your electric bill with solar energy in Costa Rica is with a solar powered hot water heater, because the electric heating element is one of the highest energy consuming devices in homes. Evacuated tube solar hot water heaters are the most efficient, and connected to your water heater can reduce your energy bill between 22,000 to 26,000 colones per month.
A second step is to eliminate alternating current (AC) power to water pumps, such as wellwater pumps or swimming pool circulation pumps, because they can be the second highest energy consuming device at home. You can install a photovoltaic (PV) solar collector on the roof and run a direct current (DC) pump completely with solar power. After these first two steps, you will get a better feel about the amount of energy that you are using and saving.
These systems last more than 20 years because they are constructed of stainless steel and glass, and are available in the central valley and beach areas from wanzicka.com if you want more information.
Electricity rates for Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) customers nationwide will increase by an average of 10 percent within the next five days, the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) announced on Wednesday, March 24th.
Another increase, to take effect immediately.
New rates published today in La Nacion… The new approved average kW/h prices are listed under the ‘PRECIO PROMEDIO APROBADO’ column:
With the cost of electricity going up I want to inform that there are solutions. For example see wanzicka.com which is what I am installing.
Are the electricity rates on the coast higher than in San Jose or is it the same rates across the entire country……
It seems like we pay peanuts in San Jose compared to the Guanacaste area…..Would like to know….
[quote=”Scott”]New rates published today in La Nacion… The new approved average kW/h prices are listed under the ‘PRECIO PROMEDIO APROBADO’ column:[/quote]
For those of you who live in the San Jose metro area and have your power supplied by CNFL rather than ICE, you can save substantial money by converting your meter to a time of day type meter (tarifa residencial horaria). It costs you nothing other than a little time to stop by the local CNFL office and put in an application. Your rates are much less in the night and evening hours so it is well worth your time. Rates vary during Peak Hours (10AM-12:30PM and 5:30PM-8PM), Low Hours (6AM-10AM and 12:30PM–5:30PM) and Night Hours (8PM-6AM). Night rates are as low as C21 per hour Los hours C50, and peak hours as low as C121 per hour. Be sure to stop at your nearest CNFL office and start saving.
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