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Cost of utilities?

 
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jsteventon



Joined: 08 Jul 2007
Posts: 191
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 2:17 am    Post subject: Cost of utilities? Reply with quote
Hi

As a newcomer to China, I have been advised that I will need to pay for utilities. Can anyone advise what kind of cost we are talking about? I would be in a 3-bedroomed apartment - with those cold winters....

Thanks!
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arioch36



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 3589
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 5:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
First, I would advise bargaining with them. They should pay for the utilities, but this is China, and bargaining is part of the culture. If you don't bargain, they are well within their cultural more to screw you over.

Of course the obvious questions, where, how big an apartment, personal lifestyle. And rising oil prices. Prices also vary, the bigger the city, the newer the area of the city, the higher the price. Heating in the winter and A/C in the summer, maybe 500/month for 6 months, then 100/ month the rest of the time?

I pay my own, all electric, so this is my rough estimate.
Radiator heat for an 88 m2 apartmant for the winter, the government price last year was close to 3,000 RMB for four months. If you have radiator heat, the government sets the price, and you do not control the thermostat
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jsteventon



Joined: 08 Jul 2007
Posts: 191
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 7:22 am    Post subject: cost of utilities Reply with quote
Many thanks for your trouble - a big help there....
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arioch36



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 3589
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 7:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
PS, that was for a poorer section of Zhengzhou Henan. I would expect it to be more expensive in Shanghai or Beijing.

3 bedroom apartment
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jsteventon



Joined: 08 Jul 2007
Posts: 191
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 7:41 am    Post subject: utilities Reply with quote
My apartment will be in Puxi, Shanghai....
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North China Laowei



Joined: 08 Apr 2008
Posts: 419
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 1:07 pm    Post subject: Re: utilities Reply with quote
jsteventon wrote:
My apartment will be in Puxi, Shanghai....


It all depends upon the winters and summers here.

Shanghai can be steaming and very humid from the end of April / beginning of May right through the middle of September if not later. During that period, I left my aircon on basically 24/7, it was just unbearable without it and I paid in the neighborhood of RMB 1,000 per month, I think, if not more, for an apartment a little smaller than the one you will live in.

Last winter was the snowiest and one of the coldest winters in Shanghai on record since 1949 (records before that are incomplete for some reason) and it there was one devil of an early spring blizzard. I like North American warm at home and the electricity bill was even more expensive than during the summer.

Water is minimal, truly so, and gas. depending upon whether it is piped in, or bottled propane, is also negligible. Your electric bill might give you some grief, for sure.

Last edited by North China Laowei on Sat Jul 05, 2008 4:46 am; edited 2 times in total
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vikuk



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1842
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 1:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Electricity has just gone up in price - and may be expected to rise more!!!!
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GeminiTiger



Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 999
Location: China, 2005--Present
PostPosted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I paid about 3300 rmb for 11 months in a similiar climate.

I liberally used my 2 electric heaters in the winter, this past year was quite bad, and this summer I leave my air-con on in a single room a lot but only at 26'.My labtop is on almost all of the time but I rarely use a TV or other electric except refrigerator and hot water heater (shower).

This past winter I had a 500 rmb February bill, I think my bill in April was 100. .. all depends on the weather.
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kev7161



Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China
PostPosted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 4:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
In my contract, my school allows 1000 rmb a month for utilities. I am to pay the difference should I go over. To date, 3 years later, I have NEVER paid a utility bill. I don't know if that means I don't go over or they just don't bother (esp. if I may go over just a little). I tend to keep my apt. toasty in the winter, cool in the summer but I do try and turn off lights, and the A/C units when I'm not there. I live in Suzhou, just a short distance west of Sh