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JDCanuck
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Thanks Ateo: We hear this all the time from Americans as we travel. This too shall pass and we understand it's just a tiny number of irate frustrated
people who think otherwise. Aint democracy great?
MTGoat: When you compare EV chargers and the profit margins they get on the product when compared to gas and the margins on a petrol service station,
it seems like a no-brainer to put in chargers. I think it's more a cultural thing
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lencho
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We may not have the complete picture; remember that the scaled rate structure the CFE uses for power prices, is probably different from what the
chargers deal with in the U.S.
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is, by how stupid he thinks I
am."
"...they were careful of their demeanor that they not be thought to have opinions on what they heard for like most men skilled at their work they
were scornful of any least suggestion of knowing anything not learned at first hand."
Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
"Be kind, be patient, help others." -- Isabel Allende
"My gas stove identifies as electric." Anonymous
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JDCanuck
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Quote: Originally posted by lencho  |
We may not have the complete picture; remember that the scaled rate structure the CFE uses for power prices, is probably different from what the
chargers deal with in the U.S. |
You may be right. Our rates for commercial use are lower than our residential higher tiered rates and the latest installed fast chargers charge about
double their cost of power so the payback is very fast on new installations. Most are being installed(reserves are doing this a lot) with a new fast
food outlet, a convenience store and a couple gas pumps, so a driver can plug in, grab some snacks, have a coffee and walk back to a recharged
vehicle. In Baja that may not be the case, but I can think of a few well positioned spots where it would make sense and where the shuttles to and from
the airport in Cabo stop now for a very brief break. Come to think of it, the Sprinter EVs are as cheap as the gas powered ones now.
[Edited on 9-30-2026 by JDCanuck]
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lencho
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| Quote: Originally posted by JDCanuck |
You may be right. Our rates for commercial use are lower than our residential higher tiered rates and the latest installed fast chargers charge about
double their cost of power so the payback is very fast on new installations. |
A cursory search gave me figures of about 4 pesos/kwh (add IVA, etc., let's say about US$.30/kwh) for commercial rate power to the charger. How much
would people be willing to pay for charging? Would there be enough demand to pay the capital investment off in a reasonable time for charging
stations (I have no idea)?
I assume Musk altered the chicken-egg problem by simply going for it and committing resources so there was enough charging infrustructure early on.
If someone with deep pockets like Carlos Slim stepped in to do the same thing at this point of the game, that could change history.
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is, by how stupid he thinks I
am."
"...they were careful of their demeanor that they not be thought to have opinions on what they heard for like most men skilled at their work they
were scornful of any least suggestion of knowing anything not learned at first hand."
Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
"Be kind, be patient, help others." -- Isabel Allende
"My gas stove identifies as electric." Anonymous
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JDCanuck
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That is a very high rate for power for sure. Almost triple our local cost for commercial power. Until someone decides the EV industry is worth
supporting in Baja and lowers it significantly, there doesn't seem to be much reason to invest unless they at the same time install their own solar
and storage systems. They must presently be getting most of their power from expensive fossil fuel generation to be charging that much.
[Edited on 9-30-2026 by JDCanuck]
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mtgoat666
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Mexico elec generation is mostly from fuel oil, spendy fuel source. Hydro, PV and wind are much cheaper than gas or oil.
Canada has low elec costs because of abundance of hydro and nuke generation.
Woke!
Hands off!
“Por el bien de todos, primero los pobres.”
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Pronoun: the royal we
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lencho
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| Quote: Originally posted by JDCanuck | | They must presently be getting most of their power from expensive fossil fuel generation to be charging that much. |
Per this article, BCS gets some 95% of its power from the oil-fired plant(s?) outside of La Paz, and there are capacity problems. I wouldn't be
counting on major EV support in BCS for a while.
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is, by how stupid he thinks I
am."
"...they were careful of their demeanor that they not be thought to have opinions on what they heard for like most men skilled at their work they
were scornful of any least suggestion of knowing anything not learned at first hand."
Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
"Be kind, be patient, help others." -- Isabel Allende
"My gas stove identifies as electric." Anonymous
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JDCanuck
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La Paz when it first built their large solar installation was supposed to be able to supply almost all it's power on solar alone. I wonder how they
managed to use so much oil based power in the following years? The cost, especially in La Paz area of the best solar incidence in North America, solar
remains at about .04/kwh on a long term basis for utilities. This report was done recently and includes higher financing costs and tariff pass through
for US installations. Baja has even better solar incidence , and no additional tariff costs.
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/renewables-remain-cheapest-...
[Edited on 10-1-2026 by JDCanuck]
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lencho
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Which installation is this and who built it?
(I'm out of touch with the current situation; the only one I'm aware of was PV, years ago out near the whale's tail, and what I heard is that some
hurricane trashed that one.)
[Edited on 10-1-2026 by lencho]
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is, by how stupid he thinks I
am."
"...they were careful of their demeanor that they not be thought to have opinions on what they heard for like most men skilled at their work they
were scornful of any least suggestion of knowing anything not learned at first hand."
Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
"Be kind, be patient, help others." -- Isabel Allende
"My gas stove identifies as electric." Anonymous
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JDCanuck
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Yes, it was built inland from the airport and the hurricane did a lot of damage but it was since rebuilt and back in service. When combined with the
wind generators up on the ridge, they provided more than 60% of the power La Paz drew.
The thermal power plant out by Pichilingue to my knowledge was being converted to combined cycle nat gas but they still had no CO2 recovery in place
yet.
When I spoke last with my family in La Paz, they indicated the output from the large La Paz solar installation was diverted to supply growing demand
in the Cabo area where almost all the power is oil fired generators. This was just their opinion of course. I have a hard time accessing the CFE sites
in Spanish to verify.
While New Fortress Energy has their small Pichilingue plant up and running, the larger planned Combined Cycle CFE plant there seems to be delayed yet
again. Sounds like the one near Cabo is also still in planning stage.
https://constructionreviewonline.com/cfe-invests-9-8-billion...
[Edited on 10-1-2026 by JDCanuck]
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lencho
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| Quote: Originally posted by JDCanuck | | Yes, it was built inland from the airport and the hurricane did a lot of damage but it was since rebuilt and back in service. |
Wow, I am out of touch. According to their website, between Aura 1 and 3, they provide more than the demand in La Paz. 
There's also another Spanish company mentioned in searches, Grupotec, but as far as I can tell their project hasn't happened.
Yeah, Los Cabos tourist facilities are energy hogs and I'm not surprised they're sucking up that power.
[Edited on 10-1-2026 by lencho]
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is, by how stupid he thinks I
am."
"...they were careful of their demeanor that they not be thought to have opinions on what they heard for like most men skilled at their work they
were scornful of any least suggestion of knowing anything not learned at first hand."
Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
"Be kind, be patient, help others." -- Isabel Allende
"My gas stove identifies as electric." Anonymous
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JDCanuck
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When I was last in La Paz, a lot of people were upset about the new combined cycle natural gas thermal plant. I explained to the person I spoke with
about the CO2 recapture and utilization we are doing up here with the CO2 our refineries produce and he had no idea what the modern applications were
capable of supplying from what has become the highest efficiency (over 60%) thermal plants now being installed. It sure beats the oil fired generators
they are presently relying on.
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mtgoat666
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Recent article on CFE plans for baja sur
CFE will invest more than 2.87 billion pesos in the electrical grid of Baja California Sur
The projects will increase transmission and distribution capacity in response to the growing electricity demand in tourist, urban, and productive
areas such as Los Cabos and La Paz.
https://www.milenio.com/negocios/cfe-invertira-mas-de-2-mil-...
Woke!
Hands off!
“Por el bien de todos, primero los pobres.”
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Pronoun: the royal we
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JDCanuck
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MTGoat: I notice those are transmission upgrades and the majority of power supplied by CFE remains IC Diesel power plants in BCS.
As an aside to power costs based on multiple sources, Australia has cut their wholesale power cost this year by an average of 47% through massive
installation of both solar and grid storage battery installations. Other countries might want to look to them for examples of cutting emissions and
costs at the same time.
https://michaelwest.com.au/half-price-power-record-renewable...
But going back to Ateo's cost per kwh in Ensenada, it looks like .47 USD per kwh, which would be a 50% markup on the cost of power at .30 USD per kwh
commercial power cost in Baja for whoever supplied it. Seems to me that's also very close to the cost of power in California, so should not be a price
shock to most and still much cheaper than the cost to drive the same number of miles on gasoline or diesel.
[Edited on 10-2-2026 by JDCanuck]
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