CFE BILLS

I have lived in my home since March 2006, and have taken....or is it tookin....LOL, interpreter to CFE, at least 12 times, and as of this date have not received a CFE bill. Since I can't pay my printed on line bill @ the convenient stores....7/11, OXXO, Soriano. I must pay in person @ CFE, Or their atm.....accept that this machine is closed in Chapala Sat, and Sunday.

In November, current year......Bill wasn't out double paid, now fighting for credit....for over payment, as they taxed and charged at the higher dac rate.........Just stick a fork in me

@ Jim W -

There is an option to pay online -- if you trust the system. I don't, so I always pay at the automated machine in the office. I did that in Chapala, when I lived in Riberas del Pilar; and I do that now in Tizapán el Alto.

In my experience, if you pay more than due it will not be refunded -- but you can use the credit towards the next bill.

I don't understand your comment about the "higher doc rate" but you can PM if you want my input -- which ain't worth a helluva lot!

It is possible to get a copy of your bill via internet access to CFE.
It is also possible to pay for the service (using the online copy of the bill) via online access to you bank (I do it from Santander).

Good luck

The OP stated he gets the online bill, but one can't pay with it. NEVER pay using a bank. It's a PITA but it is what it is.

You really don't want to get me going about CFE here...but if you insist. :)
At least we get to see the bills eventually but a set rate is included in our rent so I didn't really pay much attention as we are not big consumers of electricity until the following happened.
Normally, this house uses about 12 kw a day. On the September bill (for July and August) that rate jumped to 32 kw a day. I just about had a coronary because that put us in DAC rates and just plain wasn't possible.
1) Checked the meter and the reading was correct but put in a complaint to CFE that something must be wrong with the meter.
2) Had an electrician in to check every single appliance and it's load draw when starting up. All results were documented.
CFE never did come to check the meter and I finally went to the Head Office, only to find that my request had been mysteriously cancelled. I again requested a check on the meter and they finally did come. Nothing has been done otherwise, we're still paying DAC rates AND I READ THE METER EVERY WEEK AND WE STILL ONLY USE AN AVERAGE OF 12 KW A DAY.
WTF???
...and there were never any mysterious other cables hooked into the meter either.
If anyone has ever experienced this type of weird electrical "usage" before and resolved the issue, I would really appreciate knowing. Can't figure it out. Just know that we're paying through the nose for electrical power that was never consumed in this house.
Read your meter regularly so that you can jump on something strange the second that it happens.
End rant...but still pissed.

I guess your meter's "gringo detector" finally went off.............

I have a friend there, we can go by before we hit some balls, yes?

ferret wrote: Normally, this house uses about 12 kw a day. On the September bill (for July and August) that rate jumped to 32 kw a day. I just about had a coronary because that put us in DAC rates and just plain wasn't possible.
Nothing has been done otherwise, we're still paying DAC rates AND I READ THE METER EVERY WEEK AND WE STILL ONLY USE AN AVERAGE OF 12 KW A DAY.
WTF???
..

What do you mean WTF?
In Region 1, an average of 12kwh a day for a year puts you in the DAC category, sweetheart. If you average over 250kwh a month for 12 consecutive months, you pay the punitive rate.
So you ain't getting screwed cuz your a gringa. (note to CB)

I had problems with CFE and they did give me a credit eventually, I took pictures of the meter with dates on the photo. My problem was that the meter reader was just estimating. It took me 3 months to resolve it and they are doing fine now but I do check the meter every month to make sure we are ok.
Bancomer has been paying the bill for many years and never messed up. When I had the problem, I went by the bank suspended the service by just signing a piece of paper and had them reinstall payment when the problem was solved.
CFE first told me do not worry the bank pays the bill and I informed them they would not pay until the problem was resolved. I went for 3 months to Chapala to pay a minimum charge but not what the meter was reading. I had the ok of the boss there to do it.
We travel a lot and I would pay the service via the online service if my bank was not doing it but there is no way I would go and pay the bill inperson. We are not in the 20th century anymore.
I check the bills and the payment on line for CFE and Telmex.

I've seen all the bills for this house for the last six years and, at the moment, have them in my possession. We moved in April 19th and the rates were not in the DAC rate...average daily usage between 9 and 13 depending on the time of year.
I don't have a problem paying the DAC rate IF WE'RE USING THE ELECTRICITY. The point is that it is absolutely NOT possible for this house to consume 32 kw a day... a consumption which appears to have taken place for nearly 85 days and then "miraculously" dropped back to normal.
Spencer...I know your remark wasn't directed at me but, yeah, I'd like to hit a few balls...just not the kind you have in mind.
Brigitte...The meter reading was correct and was not the problem.

ferret wrote:I've seen all the bills for this house for the last six years and, at the moment, have them in my possession. We moved in April 19th and the rates were not in the DAC rate...average daily usage between 9 and 13 depending on the time of year.
I don't have a problem paying the DAC rate IF WE'RE USING THE ELECTRICITY. The point is that it is absolutely NOT possible for this house to consume 32 kw a day... a consumption which appears to have taken place for nearly 85 days and then "miraculously" dropped back to normal.
Spencer...I know your remark wasn't directed at me but, yeah, I'd like to hit a few balls...just not the kind you have in mind.
Brigitte...The meter reading was correct and was not the problem.

If you were using as you said in your previous post, an average of 12kwh daily for 12 consecutive months, then you are considered a DAC. For the 85 days you were billed for 32kwh per day, you were simply overcharged. But quit bitching about DAC if your normal use is 12kwh a day. The CFE computer doesn't know your nationality.

If you weren't in DAC despite using 12 kWh per day, it probably means they weren't reading your meter until that period where they did read it and it looked like your consumption jumped when in fact what may have happened is that your meter wasn't correctly read and billed previously.

We made the mistake of trying to prepay CFE one time. Took 4 trips with an interpreter and nearly 2 months to straighten that out and get credited for the prepayment. Won't make that mistake again.

Currently, this wonderful poster child for how government screws up everything it touches, is delivering 118 volts on one leg, 133 volts on another, on both of the two lines that feed our place. I've had to shuffle voltage sensitive circuits around to keep them from frying some of our equipment.

There's a reason why the letters CFE actually stand for: Can't Fecking Energize!

Intercasa wrote:I have a friend there, we can go by before we hit some balls, yes?

Yes....give me call....Maybe Wednesday?

Solovino
I have a question
If Ferret was using 12kw per day for 365 she would be using 4380 kw in 12 months and would be under DAC
If she used 12kw for 280 she used 3360kw and if the meter was screwed up or misread for 85 days it would be 85 x 32kw or 2720 kw these 85 days if incorrect threw her in the DAC rate no?
I know it is a rolling year so she should get back into the cheaper rate pretty quickly but she was overcharged. Don t you think she should find out why the meter went wild for 85 days if she did not use more electricity?

I agree there are no two rates one for Mexicans and one for foreigners..Screw ups can happen to anyone

oops you are right DAC is 3000 kw not 5000kw so she should be in DAC anyways. Still need to find out why her meter went crazy for 85 days.

Again, if she wasn't in DAC, it probably means that she had been under-read prior to the big bill. This happens a lot.

I put a 2nd meter in 4 years ago, and balanced power. My bill was averaging 2300 pesos......now averages 1350 pesos.

Thank you Brigitte...you get it!
The bills are numerically logical until that time frame. The bills even state when the reading has been "estimated" and not actually read...and I read the meter to confirm that we weren't dealing with a dyslexic meter reader.
I am looking for "out of the box" explanations since nothing changed here in usage.
1) There was a voltage regulator (the kind where the fuse doesn't blow) that was RED hot. We replaced it. Does this kind of thing cause a spike in usage???
2) Big ants were crawling out of one of the floor registers and I sprayed them. Did the millions of dead ants cause a "bridge" until they decayed away???
3) The outside wall lights are hanging free which would allow rain water to enter into the tubing...???

This house we are renting is a beautiful design with a beautiful view...the actual construction is crap...renters beware.

If a voltage regulator was red hot yes it would use electricity like a small
space heater.

A bridge (short) would probably pop a fuse or breaker but it is mexico and
I don't know how your house is wired. Had to put a ground rod into my
rental for example.

Fuse/breaker would pop if water shorted out light but it is mexico you know.

Be glad you are renter and not owner.

Z

Maybe the voltage regulator that was malfunctioning is the answer..One time we had a student that stayed in one of the guest bedroom and we found out she had a space heater she would leave on all the time....Our electricity went sky high so me be the same thing happened . If the meter is not defective something caused the usage to go way up.
Did the electricity go down after you changed the regulator?

Based on what Zed just posted, then I would indeed suspect that the voltage regulator was the culprit. It's really hard to tell because all three of the things I listed happened in the same week including finding out about the HUGE bill and having the electrician come and check all appliances. I was starting to think I'd broken a mirror without knowing it.
The voltage regulator that we replaced came with the house (the light was green but it obviously wasn't working properly). We replaced it with an ISB that has a fuse at the back which WILL blow if there's a problem.
And, yes, I am very glad we're renting this house...have just been informed that it needs to have a whole new roof membrane put on...that after specifically asking, before we signed the lease, if any major work needed to be done.
SIGH!
P.S. I have taken to patting all three voltage regulators on a daily basis to make sure they're not running a fever

Hey if it is HOT so you can't touch it comfortably it is using mucho meter spins
for sure. These devices are pretty reliable so I would say it is unusual for one
to fail but these (and don't forget your UPS batteries) do need to be checked
out once in a while. A quick pat is a good idea and while you are checking it
out go check out the UV light for your water system and make sure it isn't out
or need changing. Remember your health depends on that bulb to be working.

Z

Zedinmexico wrote:A bridge (short) would probably pop a fuse or breaker but it is mexico and
I don't know how your house is wired.

....

Fuse/breaker would pop if water shorted out light but it is mexico you know.

Yep! I'm in a "new" house as the 1st resident ever. I had one of those 3-prong adapters plugged in. (You know, when the living room has only two-prong outlets and all your appliances are three-pronged.) True, there is still no ground-wire, but for the sake of convenience, you use these damned Chinese-manufactured adapters.

I pushed the plug into the adapter and there was a "POW!" with accompanying sparks and smoke. Afterwards, I took the adapter apart and saw that the "ground" and the "hot" had fused together -- like welding something. Did it blow a fuse or throw a circuit-breaker?

Well, as you said: "It is Mexico, you know."

David wrote:The OP stated he gets the online bill, but one can't pay with it. NEVER pay using a bank. It's a PITA but it is what it is.

There are ways to let the bank automatically pay the bill. I guess CFE sends a copy of the bill to the bank - maybe the banks can request a copy in order to auto pay.

One may also direct the bank to pay a certain amount to a "service" such as CFE and TelMex.
One controls the amount sent to CFE. CFE doesn't control how much is "paid".

I do not understand "David"'s NEVER statement. And I dont agree with it.
Perhaps he'd like to clarify his "NEVER" statement. I certainly hope he does.

Jim W wrote:I put a 2nd meter in 4 years ago, and balanced power. My bill was averaging 2300 pesos......now averages 1350 pesos.

Are they billing you for both meters?
Did someone bypass one meter with jumpers.
There is no other reason for such a reduction is KWH usage - Unless you really changed your life/usage in some significant way....IMHO