Electricity, water, internet, cooking gas, generators and rubbish for your Krabi home - who the providers are, how bills and landlord markups really work, the province's variable water situation from town mains to island storage tanks, typical costs, and how to pay everything by app or at 7-Eleven.
Getting your utilities sorted in Krabi is mostly painless because in a rental the electricity, water and often internet are already connected in the landlord's or estate's name - you just pay the monthly bills. The province has real quirks, though: electricity comes from PEA (not Bangkok's MEA) and storms cause more outages on Railay and the islands, water is city mains in the towns but wells, boreholes and storage tanks on rural and island plots that trucks top up in the dry season, home fibre thins out fast beyond Ao Nang and Krabi Town, and landlord markups on power can double what you pay. Here is exactly how each utility works across the province, what it costs, and how to pay it.
Krabi province is served by the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), not Bangkok's MEA, with its main office in Krabi Town and service points around Ao Nang and the districts. Power is 220V. The mainland grid around Krabi Town, Ao Nang, Klong Muang and Nong Thale is reliable, but boat-access Railay and the outer islands (Koh Lanta, Koh Jum, Phi Phi) depend on longer feeds or local supply, so outages in green-season storms are more common there - a surge protector, and on some island and beachfront plots a back-up generator, is genuinely useful.
In a rented condo, house or villa the electricity meter almost always stays in the landlord's or estate's name and you simply pay the amount billed each month. If you buy a condo or take a long house lease and want the account in your own name, you register at the PEA office with your passport, the house registration book (tabien baan) and the property documents.
The true PEA residential rate is roughly 4-5 THB per unit (kWh). Many Krabi condos, apartments and villas bill tenants at a marked-up flat rate of 6-8 THB per unit, which is legal for private landlords but adds up fast with air-conditioning and pool pumps. Always ask the per-unit rate before you sign - on a hot villa near Ao Nang it can mean thousands of baht a month either way.
A one-bed condo or apartment using AC at night runs about 800-2,000 THB a month; a family pool villa running several AC units, a pool pump and a water heater can easily reach 4,000-9,000 THB in the hot season. Island and beach plots relying on longer power feeds or a generator can run higher, so efficient inverter AC and ceiling fans really do change the numbers.
Water is Krabi's most variable utility. Krabi Town, Ao Nang and the built-up strips generally have a Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) mains connection, but plenty of homes on the fringes, up in the hills around Nong Thale and Khao Thong, and out on the islands are not on full city mains - they rely on private village supplies, boreholes and wells instead. Always ask specifically what a property uses for water before you move in; it matters far more here than in a big city.
Many Krabi houses and villas draw from a private well or borehole feeding an underground or rooftop storage tank with a pump, so the tank buffers you against interruptions. This water is fine for washing, cleaning and gardens but is not drinking quality. It is completely normal local infrastructure, not a warning sign - but it means pressure and reliability depend on the property's own tank and pump rather than a utility, so check the tank size and pump on a longer let.
In the hot dry season - roughly January to April - parts of Krabi, especially rural plots, Railay and the islands, genuinely run short of water, and private water-truck deliveries are a way of life: a tanker refills your storage tank for a few hundred baht. On Railay and the islands, water may be barged or trucked in at higher cost. Well-run estates plan for this automatically; if you rent a standalone house or villa, confirm in advance who arranges and pays for top-ups when the supply runs low.
Where a PWA or village mains connection exists, water itself is cheap - often a few hundred baht a month - though dry-season truck deliveries and island barging add to that. Private-estate water is billed by the estate office at its own rate. Nobody drinks the tap or well water: households buy 20-litre refill bottles (around 15-25 THB a refill) or fit a home filter, which is standard across the province.
Home fibre in Krabi comes from the same national providers as the rest of Thailand - AIS Fibre, True Online and 3BB (now part of AIS) - and coverage is solid across Krabi Town, Ao Nang, Klong Muang and Nong Thale. It thins out fast off the main grid, though: boat-access Railay and the outer islands often have limited or no home fibre, and many people there run on 4G/5G mobile data instead. Check the exact address before assuming fast fibre is available.
A typical home fibre package runs about 500-1,000 THB a month for 300-1,000 Mbps, usually on a 12-month contract with the router included. In the towns it is fast and cheap by Western standards and easily good enough for video calls and streaming - a big reason Ao Nang and Krabi Town work for remote workers and DTV nomads, who often also keep a mobile data SIM as a storm and travel back-up.
In a condo, fibre is often already installed and you just take over or start a plan in your name with your passport. In a house or villa the landlord may already have a line, or you arrange installation yourself - allow a few days to a couple of weeks for a new install, longer on remote or island plots where a line may not reach at all. See our dedicated Krabi internet & SIM guide for provider detail and mobile coverage.
Because power on Railay, the beach plots and the islands can drop during storms or on longer feeds, many mid- and upper-tier villas and some resorts have a back-up generator or an inverter/battery set-up that keeps the lights, pumps and wifi on through an outage. If reliable power matters for your work, ask whether a property has a generator and who pays for its fuel - it is a real differentiator away from the main towns.
Most Krabi kitchens in houses and villas cook on bottled LPG rather than piped gas or electric hobs. You buy or exchange a gas bottle (around 350-450 THB for a refill) that a local shop or the estate delivers and connects. One bottle lasts a typical household a month or two. Condos are more often all-electric with induction hobs.
Household waste collection is run by the local municipality (tessaban) and is usually either folded into your rent or common fee or a very small monthly charge; villa estates and island resorts run their own schedule. Recycling is informal - glass, cans and plastic are often collected separately by local buyers - and cutting single-use waste genuinely helps a province built around beaches, islands and marine national parks.
If you rent or own a condo, monthly common-area maintenance (CAM) fees cover the shared pool, lifts, security and grounds - separate from your own electricity, water and internet. Long-stay tenants usually have this folded into the rent; owners pay it to the juristic office. Always clarify exactly what your rent does and does not include before signing.
The simplest way to pay every utility is your Thai bank app (Bualuang, K PLUS, SCB Easy, KMA). Scan the barcode on the paper bill or use the biller menu and it clears instantly. This is why opening a local bank account early makes life in Krabi so much smoother - see our Krabi banking guide.
You can pay almost any Krabi utility bill in cash at any 7-Eleven or a Counter Service point - hand over the bill, pay the amount plus a small (10-15 THB) fee, keep the receipt. It is the fallback before your bank account is open and it works province-wide, day and night.
On private estates and in many condos and rented houses you do not pay PEA or a water authority directly - the estate office or landlord reads the meters, adds their rate (including any dry-season water-truck or island barging costs) and issues one combined bill you settle monthly by transfer or cash. Ask to see the per-unit electricity and water rates in writing so there are no surprises.
When an account is genuinely in your own name (usually only owners or long house leases), PEA takes a small refundable deposit at connection. As a normal renter you rarely deal with this - the utilities are already live in the owner's name and you simply start paying the monthly bills from your move-in date.
Krabi's grid is run by the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), with its main office in Krabi Town. In a rental the meter stays in the landlord's or estate's name and you simply pay the monthly bill; if you own a condo or take a long house lease you can register the account in your name at the PEA office with your passport, the house registration book and property documents. Power is already live in almost every home - you rarely need a new connection, but a surge protector, and on Railay or the islands a back-up generator, is worth having for storm-season outages.
Two reasons: air-conditioning in the tropical heat, and landlord markups. The true PEA residential rate is about 4-5 THB per unit, but many condos and villas bill tenants at a flat 6-8 THB per unit. Always ask the per-unit rate before signing, and use efficient inverter AC - a pool villa with several AC units can run 4,000-9,000 THB a month in hot season, and island or beach plots on longer feeds or a generator can be higher.
It depends where you are - this is the province's biggest utility quirk. Krabi Town, Ao Nang and the main strips generally have a Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) mains connection, but rural plots, the hills and the islands often rely on private wells, boreholes and storage tanks instead. In the dry season (roughly January to April) parts of the province, and especially Railay and the islands, run short and top up from private water trucks or barges. Always ask what water system a specific home uses and who pays for dry-season deliveries before you move in, and note that nobody drinks the tap or well water - buy refill bottles or use a filter.
In the towns it is very good: home fibre from AIS Fibre, True or 3BB typically costs 500-1,000 THB a month for 300-1,000 Mbps on a 12-month contract with the router included, with strong coverage across Krabi Town, Ao Nang, Klong Muang and Nong Thale. It thins out fast beyond the main grid - boat-access Railay and the outer islands often have limited or no home fibre, and many people there rely on 4G/5G mobile data. Check the exact address, and if you work online keep a mobile data SIM as a back-up.
The easiest way is your Thai mobile banking app - scan the barcode on the bill and it clears instantly. With no app you can pay any bill in cash at any 7-Eleven or Counter Service for a small fee. On private estates and in many condos and rented houses the landlord or estate office reads the meters and gives you one combined bill - electricity, water and any water-truck or barging costs - to settle by transfer or cash each month.
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Hero photo by Sasha P on Pexels. General information only; utility providers, rates and water arrangements vary by area and property and change often - confirm current details locally before signing a lease. Costs in Thai baht (THB) and are indicative.