Electric and water prices in PR?

Hi Paet,

Good to hear from you again. As you can see by others, elec. can fluctuate. That's one of the problems. Getting consistant rates is difficult. We pay over $300 per month for a 3 bedroom house and run one AC at night(bedtime) only. There are others who pay much more for less usage. The system is broken, outdated and very poorly run. There are a lot of complaints out there right now from people who have unbelievably high bills that shouldn't. When you go to the electric company they just tell you that there is nothing the can(or want) to do. They will also tell you that if you think your bill is too high then you should hire someone to come and check it out. So when you get a house here and have the power turned on, it's a crapshoot. You might get a good rate, you might not.  They are starting investigations but I doubt anything will come of it. The water rates are reasonable though. LP gas is reasonable too. A large tank goes for about $85 where I'm at. That will last us about 8 months. The only gas we use is for cooking. So obviously if you get a place here it's going to be cheaper to cook with gas than elec.

Appliances are not always furnished. Just check ahead of time. If they aren't then that should reflect on the rental rate. Another thing I can't stress enough is food cost. Most of the people
here on the forum who are considering moving to PR aren't going to immediately go on a poor man's Puerto Rican diet of rice and beans when they get here. Food is outrageously expensive compared to most places I've been in the states. 2 to 3 times in many cases on many items. And don't expect to get many of the items you are used to. But that shouldn't be a problem if you know you have to make that adjustment ahead of time. Between the elec and food costs your money will get eaten up at a very rapid rate. This is all just based on my experience. So Paet, this is a very good inquiry. The more in depth you are about looking for information, the better equipped you will be to live here.