25 replies to this topic

[manny]

my average electric for 60 days is 1400 pesos. (700 pesos per month). the meter is fairly new less than one year old. (the older one gave me bills for 3000 plus pesos, company replaced it). i have NO: air conditioning, fans, tv, stereo, dish washer, washing machine-dryer, pool. i DO have: lap top w/router plugged in, lights on much of the time, ironing one hour per month, hair dryer 1 1/2 hrs per week (6 hrs per month) toaster oven 30 minutes almost everyday day (60 hrs per month average), gas heater is run by electric, & water pump outside. is this normal for the usage? is it the toaster oven which takes up the electric?

[doberwoman]

mmmmmmm...something is wrong! we have a pool and we pay the same amount!

[johanson]

Before one can answer your question, we need some simple information that you can get from your bill.

1.How many KWH per billing period? 2. Was your old bill charged at the DAC tariff rate and second at Tariff rate 1? If so, that would explain it.
Also 3. how long was this new billing cycle, less than 60 days?

Remember, that if you were being charged at the DAC rate, you were not getting a government subsidy. When you start a new account, which was the case when I changed meter in 2008, I went off DAC where I was charged a large fee per KWH and back to Tariff one., where the charge rate per unit of electricity might be 1/5 of what you were paying per unit of electricity at the DAC rate.

It's all explained if you go on line to the CFE web page and go to the "Conoce tu tarifa" link

9 times out of 10, it's as simple as that.

[manny]

doberwoman, also i cook, its gas. the gas heater is run by electric. & hot showers 7 days per week. do you have a big TV etc etc? more info: like 2 yrs ago the electrican reported the problem, & the meter was supposed to be replaced in one week. well it took more than one year, but in that year they sent me bills for 42pesos. thats correct, so i practically had free electric! i think i had the 42peso bill for 13 or 14months. i think the new meter is about 2 years old. maybe they are recouping?

[johanson]

Give us the usage and tariff facts and it will be easy to answer

[manny]

peter, thank you but i dont understand one word you are saying. (in either language). the very old meter was working over time so it read very high. now the bills are more stable. lloyds debits my acct every 60 days. i only see a paper bill if i request it. next time i am there i will get one & PM you. the strange thing is that i was using a heater all winter & the bills were the same! so now i know they are much too high. (or i was getting a bargain all winter? electric heater was on about 4 to 5 hrs a day- thats alot of electric).

[johanson]

again without info from the bill, I can't help you. But yes a typical electric heater might need 1 KW per hour. And using as you described might draw around 150 KWH per month which would most likely get you into DAC.

You are right to think something isn't right. I actually check my meter quite often and on the expected day the meter reader comes, so I can find out if they are doing their job. And YES (I shout) one time when I should have been billed for about 900 KWH, I was billed for more than 1500.

These days with more photo-voltaic panels I use much less electricity and am often down closer to 150 KWH per 2 month billing period.

And FYI, that $42 peso bill was the minimum charge even if you used no electricity or up to 50 KWH. So yes something isn't right.

Sadly it's time for you to become an expert about electricity. Something that doesn't take that much time to learn enough to be called an expert by us old farts, you know, "Rucos"

Good luck.

Oh I've been up north for a while and I simply went on line and looked at a copy of my last bill something you could do too.

[Natasha]

You say lights on much of the time -- how many? Old type or new energy-savers? Do you leave your iron, toaster oven, any other small appliances plugged in when not in use (they drain

power even when "off"). Irons use a lot. Toaster ovens use a lot. How often does your electric pump run? Is your laptop plugged in and "ready to go" 24/7? Also can be a power drain.



We have two computers (only connected when IN USE -- then unplugged from the wall). If we are not in a room the lights are not on. Microwave, toaster, coffee maker, TV, iron, etc. are

UNPLUGGED when not in use. Almost all light bulbs in house are coil-type. We have sufficient pressure from the street to fill our tinaco, so aljibe (for emergencies only) is switched off at

control panel unless we need to pump water up to the tinaco (almost never). Gravity flow to the house. No heaters of any kind (except propane hot water heater). This is a LARGE house

(more than 12 rooms). Our elec bill last period was 144 pesos, and we have not had a bill over 165 pesos in the last three years or more. But yes, it takes some effort!


By the way -- WHY don't you get, review, and pay your OWN bill? How can you ever know if it's doing something weird if you never see it? Don't expect Lloyd's to question anything on

your bill -- that's not their job. They get it and they pay it. But if you get your own, you can watch for things that might tell you what's going on, once you get to know the different areas of

the actual bill and what they mean.

[Spot]

Turn off all your breakers and go out and look at your meter and see if it is still moving, if it is someone is stealing your power.

[johanson]

Natasha:

All very good points. And great ways to save money. But a compromise position as far is the bill is concerned, might be to let whomever it is, continue to pay the electric bill (as I do), but go on line, register your name and account and check your bill on line and print it out. Also, determine what the billing cycle is, and go out and check the meter and write down what the meter says to ensure that when the bill comes in, that they didn't estimate the total or make an error and bill you an amount much greater or less than you should be billed.

And should the reading be very different from the bill, take a picture of the meter to include say a newspaper with a date on it, and take the picture to the CFE office and show them that they screwed up. It’s worked for me when they were off by more than 500 KWH

[manny]

still dont understand the words. there must be 100 words in peters & others posts i dont get. i wont pay 300 pesos for a r/t taxi to take me to electric comp, where they dont speak english & wait on a line. (& i also wont "go on line" not for this, since i dont understand bills paper or electronic). the lady @ lloyds will call for me (i tip), & my handyman will look @ meter. BUT to answer natasha: i have normal bulbs, like 60 watt. (dont know of any others). keep lights on when out to avoid the vacant house syndrome, 4 bulbs over head, 2-3 other bulbs. @ night i kept patio & pantry, but i stopped. some times the gate light. used to always unplug computer when not in use untill last summer. but i lose the network so my service person said keep it plugged. i will now shut it off, & wait more time to get back on line. computer is charged every day, like 1 1/2 hrs. as for a water pump, i am not plumber. all i know is that its someplace outside under something & its a place i dont go. the handyman can check it. (i hope to never ever see a water pump). iron/toaster oven never left on, or plugged in. its proberly the lights, & using the toaster oven. BUT since the bill is the same in the winter (heater)......well it should be less in the summer. will get paper bill -april 19 to june 19th. also one from the coldest 2 winter months. then i have something to compare. usage & tariff. the last skill i want to learn is to be an electrician. happy i can change a light bulb. as for the 42 peso bills, that was while they had me on the list to install a new meter. they took way longer than planned. i was thrilled that the next bill (after the new meter) was only 3500 pesos. they said it was back billed for 6 months. but in reality it was for 13-14 months. thanks for the advice, getting bills in hand is step #1.

[jaykay]

manny,
CFE is famous for making mistakes, or not even reading the meter. You have to learn how to read the bill. You have a computer, and you can read it on line. Get a neighbor to sit down with you and explain what you are looking at. To be fair, and I think Pete will back me up on this, CFE doesn't seem to get angry when you show them the mistakes. It does no good to go on line with a problem if you don't understand the responses. Get help and learn what everything means.

[manny]

jay kay the bottom line is to get the winter bills & summer bills. then since they are the same, well its ovious. there isnt anyone to help me. if i tell peter the numbers, maybe he can see a mistake. truthfully i was scared i was UNDER charged for the winter, & thought the heater would be much more. what i do see is that the posters seem to have lower bills. so, it does seem the company is picking a price, billing the same thing all year. maybe i will be lucky & get a credit for the summer bills. if theres such a thing in mexico. pete is nice, knows a lot. but thats engineer talk. one sentence is over load. thanks for the advice jay kay.

[johanson]

I've had too much to drink tonight manny And unlike some who get angry, I smile more when I see something cute. I loved your last post. Well, time to go to bed. I've got to get up early Friday, and catch a flight back from up north to the land of CFE, Simapa, Telmex, Telecable, Etc.

I can hardly wait to get home. See you all lakeside

[cedros]

You ask if it is the toaster, gas heater, or pump-your fridge could also be a big user if it is older. Why not go look at your meter when each of those things is the only thing turned on and compare how fast the meter is turning. The toaster and heater are probably using a lot of electricity. You could also read your meter every day-after awhile you will see how different things affect your use. Save this data in case you ever have a dispute with CFE. You should sign up to CFE online so you can see the details of every bill-it is very straightforward to read.
1,400 seems in the ballpark since you are using a toaster oven and gas heater (I'm not sure what you mean when you say your gas heater is run by electric. If just the fan is electric it shouldn't use too much). I would never use a toaster oven here as they are electric hogs.

[bmh]

Manny
After you turn verything off and make sure the meter i not showing any usuage, disconnect everything for an hour so except your fridge. Some refrigerators are huge users if they are older.

[lakeside7]

I've had too much to drink tonight manny And unlike some who get angry, I smile more when I see something cute. I loved your last post. Well, time to go to bed. I've got to get up early Friday, and catch a flight back from up north to the land of CFE, Simapa, Telmex, Telecable, Etc.

I can hardly wait to get home. See you all lakeside

Bring your overshoes and umbrella and sou’wester

[Toltepeceno]

Manny, like some have said shut your stuff off and see if your meter is still running. Is there any way someone could tap in on your side of the meter? People where we live will do it if they can.

That being said you have to watch cfe closely especially with a meter. Many where we live do not even have meters like us, we just pay a flat rate.

[manny]

cedros etc: gas heater is to heat water for showers, the thing that has a flame inside? it is run by electric. i think it also works the gas on the stove. (someone said to turn it off when i dont need hot water, & re light the flame. i am scared of this). i dont know how to read a meter, never saw a meter till i noticed it outside. didnt go to vocational school, or go down to basements. never had these conversations unill i came here, so its all out of my experience. the last thing i want is an "in your face relationship" w/electric comp. (or any corporation), thats why i dont ever do "online". i am not an office worker, electrician or plumber. i requested 2 bills today from lloyds. summer & winter. the winter has the electric heater, that bill seems correct. summer should be less. (as for refrigerator, it is about 16-20 yrs old). will show bills to peter, if he's in the mood, & can deal w/me. spending 300 pesos for a taxi to go to electric is not cost effective, unless i get back 3xs that. this will be resolved in my simple easy unconventional way. i will report the results. (as for someone "stealing" my power: this is a large house free standing, on the corner. there isnt another house that close, hunrads of feet away. unless someone had the electric comp do something. there IS a weird person across the street. the association can look @ the poles & tell me if it was illegally hooked up). as i said on another post: if you cant cook. order in.

[Natasha]

You know, Manny, it's pretty hard to be sympathetic with someone who refuses to take the slightest responsibility for themselves, and for learning things they need to know, especially when they move to a new country.

Are you sure you want to be here?