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After three years plus of minimum billing with our 18 panel solar system we didn't get a billing this month.  My wife went in there and checked the machine and it claims we owe them over 2000 pesos.  She was unable to get anyone to see her, the place was full and the "take a number" machine was broken.

She is going back in the morning with at least a year's billings, photos of the electric meter and an interpreter.  Any other suggestions?

I've also contacted our solar supplier for suggestions.  The system is functioning normally and making over 600kWh per month.

Any other ideas?  Ain't CFE fun?

 

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We haven't gotten a physical bill delivered since November for one meter (non-solar).  I cannot see the last bill online (my history stopped as of November).  I cannot open any of the older bills in my history at CFE online.  

This month (read in Feb. due March) our online account shows a zero bill for the solar meter, but we received no physical bill.  The online account for the solar bill still lets me view the current and historical bills.  

Three of my neighbors went to CFE about not receiving physical bills.  Each were told there were computer issues that affected some customers.  CFE said they will be fixed soon and bills delivered.  

One neighbor whose bill is usually ~under 200 pesos, got a bill for 600 pesos (the last bill she got back in November).  She was told last week by CFE that the government subsidies have changed and many will have higher bills.  

I saw this post about CFE subsidies changing at another forum.  

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/mexico-expat-forum-expats-living-mexico/1390290-just-got-our-january-cfe-statement.html

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I really wasn't paying much attention to the coming changes in CFE charges. I really don't understand them. It seems that CFE is going to pass along the actual costs of 7 different costs to consumers. Such things as; distribucion, energia etc. I think these charges are going to vary from month to month and therefore so will the cost of your energy. I think that this new scheme will not be fully implemented until the March bill.

So what changes do I see on this months bill versus Novembers ? For starters - in Nov we received 369 peso of aportacion gubernamental - in Jan we received 0 pesos. In Nov we had a credit balance of 202 kwh (our panels). In Jan they have taken all that away - doesn't even show up on the bill.

Our total bill was 50 pesos in Nov and is now 50 pesos in Jan - but I believe that is because they have not yet calculated the 'costo de la energia en el mercado' (all zeros on this statement).

 

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It seems like downloading the February statement is working again on the CFE site. Last week all I got was try later or a browser script error. Statement requests for January, December and older are still failing.

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5 minutes ago, John Shrall said:

It seems like downloading the February statement is working again on the CFE site. Last week all I got was try later or a browser script error. Statement requests for January, December and older are still failing.

I'm on 2 month billing so hoping my new bill (to be read late this month and due early April) will appear online.  I cannot access any bills online.   

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I have a house in Guayabitos that is on monthly billing so you're probably right, they've corrected their internal system and are now exposing current bills for download.

CFE changed the look of the statements which meant a program change probably leading to a screwup that broke online access to all old bills. A reputable company would go back and correct the statements posted for the last year. CFE will probably wait until January 2019 when all the broken bills will have been replaced by working ones.

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The CFE bill is now updated with 7 different costs being showed. This is probably a first step towards reducing subsidies but the price still has not changed as to warrant a $200 to $600 or even worse minimun to $2000. If you are using a biodirectional meter you should probably check that 1. The reading they are charging is actially accurate and 2nd if the meter may be malfunctioning and not registering your solar energy. The only other explanation y can think of is that the guy in charge of getting the reading for you meter had not stopped by in a while and they are charging for all that consuption. 

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20 hours ago, Mainecoons said:

After three years plus of minimum billing with our 18 panel solar system we didn't get a billing this month.  My wife went in there and checked the machine and it claims we owe them over 2000 pesos.  She was unable to get anyone to see her, the place was full and the "take a number" machine was broken.

She is going back in the morning with at least a year's billings, photos of the electric meter and an interpreter.  Any other suggestions?

I've also contacted our solar supplier for suggestions.  The system is functioning normally and making over 600kWh per month.

Any other ideas?  Ain't CFE fun?

 

I sent you a PM.

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I have been thinking about some solar panels, and a friend just told me that he had a credit on his that he wanted to use for minisplit use in May, and it has disappered. He think s that if you do not use your credits by year end, CFE just "takes them". Any better information?

This would also mean that one would only have 3 months to build up a surplus to use for April-May for air cooling, if the prior year's surplus is stolen. This is not right....

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Hmm, can someone confirm or deny this? I also was going to save my solar credits from last year for the minisplit in May-June of this year. I am looking at my CFE bill and can only see the meter readings, how much was consumed. Nowhere on the bill does it show how much I am producing--although I keep track in a daily log book. 

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I don't have Solar Panels, but my latest bill was for more than five thousand pesos!

I asked the woman in their office to send someone out to check our meter.

There's a charge of 150 pesos for that "service"  Might be time to look int going Solar.

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57 minutes ago, tomgates said:

We have had a surplus since late 2010 and have had it carried over till now. 

Yes our latest bill does not have those notations that appeared on the reverse of earlier bills, referencing both the current month's excess solar nor the total excess solar.  

The bill itself has a new design so hard to say whether this is a drastic change in CFE policy towards solar panel users or simply an omission on the new bill design.  

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I only know that I was told to expect that once per year any accrued KWHs are erased. In my case it apparently occurred this year as of the date I paid my first bill after the new year began.  Yet for some reason not everyone looses their accrued KWH. I guess I will see when the next bill comes out what it shows.

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36 minutes ago, johanson said:

I only know that I was told to expect that once per year any accrued KWHs are erased. In my case it apparently occurred this year as of the date I paid my first bill after the new year began.  Yet for some reason not everyone looses their accrued KWH. I guess I will see when the next bill comes out what it shows.

Our solar was installed this past August 2017, so this is our first 'rollover' year. 

The major differences with the March bill are: 

There had been a heading on the front of the bills in the past labelled, Apoyo Gubernamental. It is gone and the sub-listings under it for Costo de Producion and Aportacion Gubernamental are gone as well. 

There is a new heading in that area of the bill labelled Costo de la Energia en el Mercado; this listing has 7 sub-listings.  On my bill they are all plugged in with -zeros- 

On the reverse, older CFE bills for solar users, the bill  contained two statements, one told you the amount of KWH credit you generated this billing period.  The other statement told you your accumulated KWH credits.  The March bill does not contain either statement.

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In my case any extra electricity I generate, I try to use up. Why? because when I do not, what I have saved up has been deleted from my account each year. It seems to happen in my case at the end of each year or with the first billing thereafter.  How do I use up my extra electricity?  First I do not have that much extra each year and second running an electric heater  rated at 1 KW per hour a few cool evenings per cold month will do it.

EDIT: I just posted this a second after you posted your informative information on the new bill format and did not read it before posting the above information. I too found the same information, or lack thereof on the bill I received earlier this month.

What I do know is that I consumed 104 KWH more than I generated, yet was only charged the minimum so regardless of the fact that there was not past history of power saved, I was given credit for the extra power I used.

So maybe it was zeroed out after this billing period. Who knows. 

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On May 22nd, 2017, Go Solar posted...

Quote

It is a rolling most recent 12 month period for tracking credits, and only any credits from the 13th month or older are dropped.    The CFE policy is clear, the info you were given was not correct.

Can anyone confirm or deny that the above information is still in effect?

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Go Solar knows his stuff. And I greatly respect him. So when I say, " I sure hope that the information Go Solar was given by CFE is correct" I have heard some others like Tom who posted he has never had any KWH deleted.

I also heard from another solar person that it happens once per year, and when asked when they said towards the end of the year.

I have never known you to post anything here that wasn't so, Go Solar so I say again, I sure hope that what you were told  or experienced comes true for me :).

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Thanks Pete, the feeling is mutual.

To the best of my knowledge, that info was correct at the time it was posted in May '17.     And numerous CFE solar account reviews have supported it.    

There may be a change that has just come in along with all the others mentioned, checking on it already, and happy to post back with any updates / changes.

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Please post what you found out Go Solar. My own installer found out last Friday and I would like it confirmed...

"that there will no longer be banking of kwh. At the end of every two month period, if you produced more than you used, you will be charged the minimum administration fee AND WILL BE PAID for the extra kwh produced. Then you start a new 2 month billing period at zero for both produced and used."

My questions:

1) when will you be paid, how will you be paid  and at what rate per kwh

2) an RFC number is required for this because it's "income"

3) and, depending on how the overage is reimbursed,  what if I don't have a Mexican bank account? Can I use this money towards the CFE bill? Does that require going to CFE office every two months.

imho, they seem to have made this unnecessarily complicated.

I refused to sign the contract for the bi-directional meter today because it was 2 1/2 pages of small print Spanish. I asked for a copy of it for the purpose of translation and was told I couldn't have a copy UNLESS I signed it. WHUH? Who signs a contract without understanding what they're signing?

 

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1 minute ago, Bisbee Gal said:

Nominee for understatement of the year, Ferret :D

MC...what happened with the issue you had in the OP?

Second that nomination.  :D

Near as we can tell it was a combination of a house sitter who left things on and used the heck out of an electric heater for the two weeks we were gone in January plus this new billing scheme which I still don't understand at all.  Go Solar could you please give us all an update on this.  It sure feels like we aren't going to like it much

 

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