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C-Urchin
Nomad
Posts: 234
Registered: 12-17-2008
Location: La Paz
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CFE bill
OK, I got a bill for $4357.00 pesos for 2 months of electricity. One month no one there, just the fridge (new energy star). Water heaters turned off.
People in the house half of July to half of August. Main house 3100 sq ft, AC not on all the time, only during the day set at 30oC. Casita 1100 sq ft
AC on half a dozen times. Only things on, timed lights (low compact bulbs) and alarm. Is that normal???
*Be the man your dog thinks you are
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bajamigo
Super Nomad
Posts: 1218
Registered: 6-17-2006
Location: Punta Banda, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: hubimos llegado
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Must be. Nobody would dream of stealing electricity in Baja.
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C-Urchin
Nomad
Posts: 234
Registered: 12-17-2008
Location: La Paz
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CFE bill
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajamigo
Must be. Nobody would dream of stealing electricity in Baja. |
Please elaborate...
*Be the man your dog thinks you are
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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How many KWH per day does it say on your bill? Compare that with what you read on your meter when you're in the house.
That bill is large....by my standards, for sure.
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13052
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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we have also received erroneous CFE bills and they say ooops and fix it....i sure hope that's your case.
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13242
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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how long have u had the house ? we were shocked when we hit the 1 year mark and they charged us MUCH more...turns out there is a subsidy but if you
go above the limit = you don't get the gvt subsidy any more ...and it is brutal 
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CortezBlue
Super Nomad
Posts: 2213
Registered: 11-14-2006
Location: Fenix/San Phelipe
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I had a similar problem in San Felipe last fall.
I have a Rinai Tankless water heater and it crapped out.
I had just changed out my electric water heaters in the USA
I took a 50 gal electric tank to Mexico to use
My bill went crazy high. Like 1200 pesos a month
I ended up bringing the tankless home to the USA and got it fixed. My bill settled back down to the normal 350 to 500 Pesos per month.
Electricity is expensive in Mexico.
[Edited on 9-16-2011 by CortezBlue]
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bajalearner
Senior Nomad
Posts: 670
Registered: 8-24-2010
Location: Tijuana
Member Is Offline
Mood: in search of more
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Look around your meter and the power cables from the meter to your house. Check for wires leading away from your power system to another house.
I had a high bill for a 2 month period and then cut back on heating and other things but CFE charged me at a higher rate for subsequent months so my
bills continued to be high. I can't explain why this occurred but a friend told me it also happened to him. So you may see more bills that are
expensive even though you cut back on some things.
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vandy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 538
Registered: 10-10-2003
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CFE charges for electricity on a sliding scale, based on how much energy you use per several-month period.
It can take a few months until the price per KWH goes down again when you cut back consumption.
How much are you being charged per KWH?
BTW, if I was there for one of the two months during a La Paz summer, that AC would have been blasting 24/7.
[Edited on 9-16-2011 by vandy]
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CortezBlue
Super Nomad
Posts: 2213
Registered: 11-14-2006
Location: Fenix/San Phelipe
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PS
Also check your ground. If you don't have a really good ground you can have major issues.
The best way to see, is shut off you casa's main breaker, in the house, and then see if your electric meter is turning.
If it is you may want to get a 10 foot cooper ground round and pound it into the ground and connect it to your main power boxes ground line.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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One of thse will tell you what's using what. It's a good start to isolating a problem.
http://www.donrowe.com/kill_a_watt/kill_a_watt.html
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jbcoug
Senior Nomad
Posts: 709
Registered: 9-24-2006
Location: Vancouver, WA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Needing Baja!
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Dennis,
Thanks for the link, pretty useful for us even when NOB.
John
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J.P.
Super Nomad
Posts: 1673
Registered: 7-8-2010
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
Mood: Easy Does It
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajalearner
Look around your meter and the power cables from the meter to your house. Check for wires leading away from your power system to another house.
I had a high bill for a 2 month period and then cut back on heating and other things but CFE charged me at a higher rate for subsequent months so my
bills continued to be high. I can't explain why this occurred but a friend told me it also happened to him. So you may see more bills that are
expensive even though you cut back on some things. [/quo
The worst offender on the CFE bill is a inefficient refrigerator.Once you cure the problem you will most likely will not see a change in your bill
right away as they estimate your bill sometimes. The easiest way to resolve your bill is to read your meater and go to the CFE office if there is one
near you They at the office can be very helpful if aproached with the RIGHT attitude. |
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J.P.
Super Nomad
Posts: 1673
Registered: 7-8-2010
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
Mood: Easy Does It
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajamigo
Must be. Nobody would dream of stealing electricity in Baja. |
I rember when I first moved here this young Man quit druging and drinking and he went to the ofended neighbor and confessed he had been stealing their
electricity for some time. Neighbor was inpressed and forgave him. The thief felt so relived buy this forgivness he went to CFE. and confessed and
they were not so forgiving he darn near went to jail.It was revealed there was a pretty stiff fine and possible jail time for the crime of stealing
electricity if caught. 
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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CFE is federal making the crime a federal offense.
NaughtyNaughtyNaughty
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by jbcoug
Thanks for the link, pretty useful for us even when NOB.
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Yeah..John. Here's an even more sophisticated model if like your refer is covering the power connection and you have a lot of money to throw around.
http://www.ccrane.com/science/instruments/kill-a-watt-wirele...
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MitchMan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1856
Registered: 3-9-2009
Member Is Offline
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C-Urchin,
Glad someone finally brought this issue up. I went round and round with CFE for 4 months about my bill, they finally fixed it. Their billing system
really sucks for them internally and for us as customers. If you notice, they do not give you a running account balance. That is a massive omission
to the integrity of your/our CFE bill and to the integrity of concept of ongoing billing itself.
I take my own readings frequently off the meter itself and keep a meticulous record of such readings together with a running balance reflecting
official billings and payments. I constructed a spreadsheet for this purpose and I have formulas that calculate billing amounts in pesos, USD, and
in KWHs. Not saying you need to do the same, but at least take periodic readings to keep an eye on your ongoing usage, and get a balance printed out
at the CFE office and start keeping track of bilings and payments and maintain your own parallel balance.
Also, I got one of those appliance usage meters (Kill-a-Watt) mentioned above by Dennis and I measured all my appliances in Baja and at my home in
USA. It was an accurate eye opener as to what appliances use how much electricity. Helped curb my usage and considerably lowered billings by
changing certain habits. When I am not in Baja, I have a torchere timed to operate for 6 hours a night, three outside security lights to operate at
night only, and I leave the refrigerator on. My usage thusly in summer months is 2.2 KWH per day. When I am there (in Baja) in summer I use about 18
to 22 KWHs per day and about 5 KWHs per day during cooler months. I run only energy saver lights everywhere, never use incandescents for anything.
Made a huge, huge difference. Buy the energy savers in USA, not Mexico though. Much cheaper in USA.
BTW, electricity in Mexico is cheaper than in USA by alot. It's about $0.07/KWH USD in Baja and about $.12 to $.28/KWH USD in USA, CA.
[Edited on 9-16-2011 by MitchMan]
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Udo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6364
Registered: 4-26-2008
Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
Member Is Offline
Mood: TEQUILA!
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Thanks for the enlightening post, Mitch.
BTW are you going to make the Tequila Expo in October?
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
Member Is Offline
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Wow! I've been sneaking out to read my meter after dark just after CFE reads it. I was thinking my neighbors would think I was muy anal retentive to
check the meter against the bill. Boy, you guys make me feel better AND you make me feel better about where I stand in the world of power.
Since you're on a roll, could you give me the rundown by state for all of Mexico? How about Europe? How would I stack up down here in East Cape
against, for example, Croatia (say cities under 10,000)?
Man, I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonight now that I know what a bargain I'm getting. Might just leave some lights on to celebrate.
Thanks guys
[Edited on 9-16-2011 by Osprey]
[Edited on 9-16-2011 by Osprey]
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J.P.
Super Nomad
Posts: 1673
Registered: 7-8-2010
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
Mood: Easy Does It
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On the left side of your CFE bill it gives you a running average of kw's used this year and last years billing period by period
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