How to read your CFE Bill?
Any homeowner in Mexico can tell you that paying bills can be confusing. These tasks can be daunting and sometimes confusing, especially when it comes to basic utilities. Bills for water, gas and electricity (known as CFE in Mexico) are often changing. If you own a home in Mexico that you also live in primarily, you may find yourself constantly baffled by how your bills are calculated. It seems to be that the CFE bill is the one that confuses most expats. Understanding your CFE bill is the first step in managing your electricity costs. After reading our Guide to Understanding your CFE Bill you should be well on your way.
CFE may use different layouts for their electricity bills. If your bill doesn’t look exactly like this example, the titles of the items and charges should be the same maybe just in different places.
CFE Bill – Page 1
Service Number – identifier of your CFE account
Tariff applied to the bill – normally 1
Meter Number – number identifying the meter
Meter Multiplier – older style meters with the 5 dials will have a multiplier value, for new electronic meters this value will be 1
Billing Period (PERIODO FACTURADO) – the date from and to for which the bill is calculated for
Payment Due Date (LIMITE DE PAGO) – the date by which the bill must be paid. If you are paying right on the due date, you must pay at the self-serve machines at the CFE office
Cut-off Date (CORTE A PARTIR) – the date that you will be cut off. Yes you will be cut-off that day, no power, nothing.
Energy Charge(s) (CONCEPTO )- your bill is calculated based on the applicable published CFE tariff and the line items outlined in the tariff.
Line Item Types – CFE residential tariffs have a number of basic line items based on consumption price bands. You will find the types of Basico, Intermedio, Excedente on Winter Bills indicating the 1st, 2nd and last price levels applied to your bill. On summer bills you will find the types of Basico, Intermedio1, Intermedio2, Excedente indicating the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and last price levels applied to your bill. Suma is the sum total of the kWh and the charges. Price per kWh increases as you move from Basico to Exedente. If you are finding you have a number greater than zero for Exidente you will have used up all the kWh volumes alloted to you for the lower price levels.
Current Meter Reading – the reading just taken for this bill
Previous Meter Reading – the reading from the previous bill
Energy in kilowatt hours (kWh) – for the period & by charge line item
Price in Pesos per kWh – for each charge line item
Subtotal in Pesos – by line item
Subtotal for all energy charges
High Usage Warning – infographic showing your consumption in the period with respect to approaching the DAC limit for your tariff. Translated it says “This graph reflects your consumption level. The less use, the more support.” This replaces the former speedometer graphic on the previous CFE bill.
CFE advertisement
Supply cost breakdown – while the title translates as “Energy costs in the Wholesale Electricity Market”, these are not just wholesale market costs but include other elements. See below for a translation of each item.
Supply (Suministro) – costs for CFE to create and send you a bill
Distribution (Distribución) – costs for use of the Distribution System
Transmission (Transmisión) – costs for use of the Transmission System
National Control Center (CENACE) – costs for National Control Center Operator
Energy (Energía) – costs for energy produced
Capacity (Capacidad) – costs for generation capacity needed for reliability
Wholesale Electricity Market (SCnMEM) – costs for energy trading in the wholesale market.
Government Subsidy – translated as “Government Support” it is calculated as the sum of the costs in in the Supply Cost breakdown (Section 18) minus the Subtotal for all energy charges. CFE Tariff rates for home and farm consumers have a government subsidy built in based on forecasts. The actual subsidy will vary as costs in the market to supply changes each month.
Final bill calculations – including: Energy (Energia) for the period, IVA @ 16%, Period Total (Fac. Del Periodo), Previous Billed Amount (Adeudo Anterior), Your Payment (Su Pago) and Total amount due
Consumption History Chart – your previous consumption history for the past 11 periods (22 months) not including your current bill represented as a bar chart.
How does the CFE set the rate?
There are two different rates which depend on the season. Each rate includes three bills (every two months), which cover the whole year. The summer rate is billed from April 1st to October 1st. Meanwhile, the winter rate is billed between October 2nd and May 31st. This happens every year and does not change.
Important to know ****These rates, called 1B, have a government contribution. That means that while you are within the 1B rate, you are likely to pay less. To stay within this range, you need to consume less than 4800 kWh a year, or no more than 800 kWh every two months. But what happens when you consume more? Then you are moved into the DAC category automatically. DAC is the Domestic High Consumption (for its initials in Spanish). High electricity consumers do not get a government contribution in their bill, and the price rises to approximately $4.39 mxn per kWh. The CFE will move you into this category when you consume over 4800 kWh in a year.
Tips to keep your bill lower
Keeping a Low Electricity Consumption
To avoid paying monumental bills every two months, it is wise to follow these tips to keep a low electricity consumption.
Regulate Your AC
Avoid having your AC units on all day long. If you leave the house, turn them off. It only takes a few minutes for them to cool your home once you return. If you have ceiling fans in your home, consider using those when you’re inside the home after running the AC for a little bit.
Close Doors and Windows
If you’re running the AC, keep doors and windows closed, especially in small spaces. When you have the air conditioner on in a bedroom, close the door to avoid the cool air from escaping to the rest of your house. The more concentrated the air is, the less energy your AC will waste.
Turn Off Lights
When you leave a room, or your house, turn off all the lights. It is also advisable to change to eco-friendly lightbulbs that consume less energy.
Unplug Electronics
Not many people realize that electronics that are plugged in but not in use still consume a certain level of energy. Whenever you’re not using something, make sure you unplug it. This applies to TVs, Blu-Rays, mobile chargers, and even your microwave. Consider that many of these appliances have a LED indicator that indicates when the appliance is off. That little light is using electricity to function.
Constantly Check Your Counter
Once you learn the ins and outs of how the CFE calculates your bills, you will be able to monitor your consumption every month and work to reduce your usage as much as possible.
Go Green
If you really want to lower your consumption down to the minimal usage, you can invest in solar panels. With these your electricity bill will start reducing until it reaches 0 kWh.
Now that you understand how the government calculates your bills, you can start being more conscious about the electricity you use in your gorgeous vacation home in Mexico.
IF YOUR RENTING OUT YOUR UNIT
Always do a meter reading the Day the renters arrive.
Then again when they leave.
Never include Electric in your rental rate.
****TIP If you belong to an HOA that collects from you & you receive no bill, your bylaws should cover the explanation of your charges. There may be more caveats due to your personal housing situation such as common areas, etc that will skew this explanation. And, many high rises are not metered as “normal households”.
CFE and Credit
Many people end up being concerned about having the bill in their name or not in their name if you have just sold your property. The fear and concern comes from home in the US or Canada where the name on the bill is important because of credit extended by the utility company. Using electricity with someone else’s name on the bill or with your name still on the bill and you don’t live there anymore is uncomfortable for most. In Mexico, CFE’s isn’t as concerned about who’s name is on the bill and they are about the bill getting paid.
How to pay your CFE bill?
So you have your first CFE bill and you’re trying to figure out how am I going to pay this? In this blog we explain your options!
Please note if you are after the “Limite de Pago” date on the bill you MUST pay it at the CFE office. Payments made any other way can run the risk of not being received in time and you will get cut-off.
CFE – ONLINE
Set-up your account online with CFE and you can pay your bill using a Mexican Debit or Credit Card. Mexican cards only. You will need to set up an account first and then add your service number (“No. de Servicio”) after. Then add your card. CFE also has a great phone app called CFE Contigo that you can find here for Android and here for iPhone.
WESTERN UNION – ONLINE
Western Union allows you to pay your CFE Bill online with a US Credit Card. Not sure about a Canadian Card. Handling fee of $2.99 USD applied.
XOOM – ONLINE
XOOM allows you to pay your CFE Bill online with a US Credit Card. Not sure about a Canadian Card. Handling fee of $4.99 USD applied.
MEXICAN BANK – ONLINE
Almost any Mexican Bank is set-up for online bill payment to CFE. It may not be the easiest to use depending on the bank.
I tried it once with my Banorte account. I thought I’d paid the bill until a couple of weeks later on a Tuesday in September at 2:30pm when I was cut-off. Went and paid the bill at CFE and it was a sweaty 24 hours until they came back to turn it.
MEXICAN BANK – ACH
Almost any Mexican Bank is set-up for ACH or auto-debit of the payment to CFE. I have been told you need to go to the bank to set this up. Like all trips to the bank take absolutely every bit of ID (Passport, Resident Card, Drivers Licence) and allow at least 2 hours to complete!
OXXO – IN PERSON
Bring your CFE Bill to your local Oxxo. They will scan it and take cash to pay the bill. It comes with a 9 Peso fee charged by Oxxo.
CFE OFFICE – IN PERSON
At your local CFE office you can pay in person or at the CFE Matico kiosks. The kiosks are easy, just queue up and scan the bar code on your bill. Your name and bill details will appear, and you can begin slipping Peso notes into the machine. Sometimes the machine is out of smaller notes to make change. Don’t worry, just overpay the bill and you’ll have less to pay next time.
The new kiosk machines have card readers that will allow you to pay with your Mexican Debit or Credit Card instead of cash.
CFE OFFICE – PREPAYMENT
One of the best options for Expats who are not around full time is to go to the CFE office before you leave and prepay. Figure out what you bill amounts are likely to be while you are gone (hopefully small since you aren’t there), round up to the nearest thousand pesos. You can scan any old bill anytime at the kiosk and it will allow you to throw money on the account. Stuff the machines with all the Pesos you figure you need and get your Recibo. Monitor your bills online and you’ll see the credit amount and the deductions as each bill comes through.
CFE cuts you off
Regardless of the name on the bill, if you don’t pay the bill, you will be cut-off. You will stay cut-off until the bill gets paid again. It’s just that simple.
