Q: My electricity bill doubled this month—what's going on?

A: Live in Mexico for any length of time, and there's no doubt you will hear this complaint more than once. Here in San Miguel, it usually pops up every winter, when night time temperatures drop to the high 30’s and escapees from northern climates immediately crank up the dials on their electric heaters and blankets in response. In Merida, where temperatures can reach over 100 Fahrenheit by early May, and air-conditioners all over town are powered up to maximum, complaints start rolling in shortly after the next electricity bill arrives.

What many new residents don’t realize is that electricity rates in Mexico are subsidized by the federal government. A small household, that can only afford a few light bulbs, a radio and a basic refrigerator, pays much less for their power than does a wealthier family with multiple televisions, modern kitchen appliances and on demand heating or cooling. In Mexico, electricity is billed on a sliding scale, the more you use, the more expensive it becomes. And, if you exceed what the Federal Electrical Commission (CFE) deem as normal household use, there is a heavy price to pay for such lavish consumption. As one disgruntled writer put it, “The CFE allows the consumer three basic service levels ...and then you are pretty much screwed”

Mexico is divided into 7 billing zones, based on average temperatures, and here in San Miguel we fall into the Tariff 1 category. In May of this year, the cost for the first 150 kWh (Consumo Básico) was $0.695 pesos/kWh, the following 100 kWh (Consumo Intermedio) was billed at $1.153 and the remaining 150 kWh (Consumo Excedente) cost $2.441 pesos/kWh. As you can see, the price increases are incremental until you reach the 500 kWh level. Then, as they say, the gloves come off!

If you use more than 500 kWh for three billing periods per year—and these don’t have to be consecutive periods, just three bills out of the last six—then you are relegated to Tarifa Domestica de Alto Consumo (DAC) and will have to pay for it, and pay dearly! First, there is a DAC surcharge, but more importantly and much more costly, every kWh you use, from the nightlight in the guest bathroom, to the automatic door opener or self-defrosting fridge/freezer, will cost you in excess of the excessive amount (Consumo Excedente)—every single kWh. It’s not unusual for bills to double or triple, once the government ‘subsidy’ has been removed.

 

ENERGY SAVING TIPS — Once you have entered the ‘DAC zone”, your billing rate will remain at that level until you can reduce your consumption to less than 500 kWh for 3 billing periods (6 months). There are some who consider this an unattainable level, however, there are a number of measures you can take to reduce your electric bill:

1. If you are renting your home, and the previous tenant was paying the DAC rate for electricity, make sure you change the service to your name right away. All you need is the CFE bill and a comprabante de domicilio (in a different name) for the same address. Take them both to the office on Calle Loretto and request a change of holder. The next bill will immediately go back to the household tariff.
2. Replace as many incandescent light bulbs as you can with either compact florescent or (better yet) LED lights. Both alternatives last far longer and, over time, will reduce the power you use for lighting quite dramatically.
3. If you are leaving an empty room, switch the lights off! And why leave the TV on if no one is watching it? Similarly, battery chargers for cellphones and laptops continue to use power even when they’re not charging anything. True, they don’t use much but why not unplug them anyway?
4. Replace energy guzzling space heaters and oil-filled radiators with propane heaters–over the long term they are much more economical.
5. Turn off the white-noise machine and pick up some earplugs from Farmacia Guadalajara, they are much cheaper and you will probably sleep better as well.
6. Find your breaker box and trip ALL the breakers. If your meter is still spinning after 15 minutes, you may be paying for someone else’s power: get it checked.
7. If you own a larger home, you should definitely consider installing more than one electricity meter. Separate meters could be used for power running to independent casitas or for subdivision of the main property (place an energy guzzling home office on it’s own meter). While this is not inexpensive, it could pay for itself quite quickly.

POWERING UP!

Summer in Mexico is rainy season, and rainy season means dramatic thunderheads overhead, bolts of lightning sizzling from one horizon to the other... and the hissss-bang of electrical equipment committing hari-kari.
While San Miguel experiences fewer power outages than some other Mexican destinations, it only takes one over-voltage to fry your stereo components or one black-out to lose an entire day’s work on your computer. Before plugging in anything of value please consider:

San Miguel’s power suppy is the same voltage (nominal 110 and 220) as other parts of North America. However, actual voltage can vary widely from the nominal 110 volts. Such variations can cause long term deterioration and damage of appliances and electronics. Some form of electrical protection should be used for everything valuable.

For appliances a standard bar-type surge protector should be enough. For stereo equipment and televisions, an added power regulator will protect from brown-outs and over-voltage. Computer equipment should be plugged into a quality UPS (uninterruptible power supply). Even if the power goes off, due to the weather or to someone ‘fixing’ the lines, you will have 15-30 minutes of reserve power, giving you enough time to save the files you are working on and shut your equipment down without damage or loss. A UPS will also regulate the voltage and protect from surges on a day-to-day basis.

However, it is important to note that none of these circuit protection devices will work correctly unless connected to a functioning, 3-pin, grounded outlet. Few, if any, older homes have 3-pin outlets and even if they do, there is no guarantee that the circuit is, in fact, grounded. Furthermore, you may find that the circuits have been wired with a certain degree of originality and that the color coding of the wires displays a similarly independent spirit. An inexpensive circuit tester will highlight these problems when plugged into an outlet, it is a highly recommended purchase. If you own an older home, it is advisable to establish a grounded circuit for vital electronics­—have an experienced electrician install a tierra (an external physical ground) and rewire all circuits you use for sensitive equipment.

If you are unfamiliar with Mexico you may think these measures unnecessary or excessive. If so, personal experience suggests that you may want to start checking the prices of new electronic equipment today.