www.CostaRicaTicas.com
https://forum.costaricaticas.com/

Power Turned Off
https://forum.costaricaticas.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=49442		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  blester [ Wed Sep 28, 2016 6:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Power Turned Off
Things sure can change quickly sometimes. About 5 or 6 years ago, service in general in Costa Rica was pretty bad. It still is in some places. But I had my first experience with having my power shut off today. I've never missed paying a power bill in Costa Rica, but I got busy this month and forgot about it. Two weeks after the due date (today), CNFL shut my power off. That was about 11:00 a.m.

I had trouble getting CNFL on the phone, and for some reason I couldn't bring up my account on the computer. Any other day, my account would have popped up on the computer without any issues, but not today, apparently. I immediately sent my neighbor to pay the bill in cash at the local Mega Super (he routinely helps me out with stuff like this). He paid the bill at 11:30 a.m. I finally managed to break through to CNFL using online chat, and immediately got a message saying that the payment had been logged and re-connection had already been scheduled by an automated system.

The power was back on before 3:00 p.m. That's a nice little surprise compared to the past. I wouldn't expect that kind of service from AYA (the water guys), though.
Author:  bandon843 [ Wed Sep 28, 2016 9:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Power Turned Off
Third world, arm-twisting strategy to get citizens to pay their utilities....works!
Author:  BlueDevil [ Wed Sep 28, 2016 10:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Power Turned Off
That's a pleasant surprise. When there is a non-payment issue with a utility in Colombia, you must go to the designated office, with your receipt in hand, to request service be restored. It usually take anywhere from 1 - 3 days.
Author:  MM3 [ Wed Sep 28, 2016 11:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Power Turned Off
The power is out here in the entire "greater Barra del Colorado metropolitan area" since 4. ICE promised it back on by 7. Jajajajajaja. No.

No issues. Cranked the 200kW.
Author:  bandon843 [ Wed Sep 28, 2016 11:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Power Turned Off
MM3 wrote:
The power is out here in the entire "greater Barra del Colorado metropolitan area" since 4. ICE promised it back on by 7. Jajajajajaja. No.

No issues. Cranked the 200kW.

How do you get your internet connection?
Author:  blester [ Wed Sep 28, 2016 11:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Power Turned Off
bandon843 wrote:
Third world, arm-twisting strategy to get citizens to pay their utilities....works!


Well, I guess they'll turn off the power in any country if you don't pay your bills. It's definitely my own fault that the power got turned off. I was mainly posting about how quickly they turned the power back on. It wasn't like that a few years ago. I remember speaking with a drinking pal who forgot to pay his bill about 5 years ago, and it took him almost a week to get his power turned back on.

I thought of Costa Rica as Third World 15 years ago, but I don't any more. Sure there are some bad places, just like in Arkansas and Louisiana. But for $15,000 or $20,000 per year, one person can live very comfortably here.

I did speak to the power company guy via email. I told him I just forgot to pay my bill and thanked the company for turning the power back on so quickly. He told me they did try to get the power back on the same day, if possible. Unofficially, I get the impression that a lot of Ticos wait until the power gets cut off before they pay their bills, so the power company tries to turn it back on quickly so the person can start generating income for the company again as quickly as possible.

I also wrote that my only real complaint was that there was no warning prior to the cutoff. Sometimes people just forget, although that's no excuse, but they'll pay their bills if you just remind them. The guy agreed and said he put my email address in their system, so that I would get a reminder if I ever forget again. I don't intend to forget my bill again, but if I do, I guess I'll find out if that works or not.
Author:  MM3 [ Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Power Turned Off
bandon843 wrote:
MM3 wrote:
The power is out here in the entire "greater Barra del Colorado metropolitan area" since 4. ICE promised it back on by 7. Jajajajajaja. No.

No issues. Cranked the 200kW.

How do you get your internet connection?


We use a Kolbi (Huawei) cellular modem / router. Cellular 3g. It worked until the cell tower generator ran out of fuel about 2- 3 am.

Power just came back on. 4 pm to 9 am.
Author:  bandon843 [ Thu Sep 29, 2016 1:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Power Turned Off
MM3 wrote:
bandon843 wrote:
MM3 wrote:
The power is out here in the entire "greater Barra del Colorado metropolitan area" since 4. ICE promised it back on by 7. Jajajajajaja. No.

No issues. Cranked the 200kW.

How do you get your internet connection?


We use a Kolbi (Huawei) cellular modem / router. Cellular 3g. It worked until the cell tower generator ran out of fuel about 2- 3 am.

Power just came back on. 4 pm to 9 am.

That's the real jungle for you...
Since when has there been ICE electricity there?
Author:  MM3 [ Thu Sep 29, 2016 4:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Power Turned Off
bandon843 wrote:
That's the real jungle for you...
Since when has there been ICE electricity there?


1986. The Lodge initially ran on the diesel generator for a couple of years until a power line was put in (about 1996?).

This was pretty unusual. Oh, the power goes out all the time - but 17 hours is unusual. Usually the ICE line crew in the village gets on it right away. 2-4 hours is more normal.
Author:  Bigal211 [ Sun Oct 02, 2016 11:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Power Turned Off
Easy to forget, happened to me a couple of years ago. The late fee and reconnect fee on my next bill was over $40. I never forgot again.
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
https://www.phpbb.com/