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Hi CFE bills


Mitch

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we went to Opiere solar, west Ajijic, several years ago and put in solar panels.  

why did  I do this sooner.  we have a wall mounted electric heater.

We warm he house up every morning

I went without heat  or air conditioning for five years, what a mistake, thank you Opiere solar

 

our5 cfe bill is so low, to low to mention it

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6 hours ago, RickS said:

I remember a while back that folks thought CFE had taken their 'bank credits'. On the bill anyway. Did that get resolved?

 

 

Each instance we're aware of, showed no sign of the actual kWh energy credits being removed; although they did disappear from showing on the back of the bills for most of last year, however.    That has since been resolved and they are showing again.

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They are not showing on my bill... not even the last one received in December of 2020. Anyway, I'm happy. Since I installed five panels in February of 2018, my bill every two months has been the 46 pesos administration charge and nothing else. In January of last year, I went in to the pay machine in Chapala at the CFE office and paid $300 pesos (a bono) to cover it for a year... since then, my bill is a big fat ZERO.

BTW, saying the number of panels really doesn't mean much unless you specify how many watts each panel is capable of producing in an hour in perfect conditions. Mine are each 350 watt... and some of the newer ones are capable of producing more.

The other thing is that putting in solar is slapping a bandaid on the problem if you don't take care of the air leaks in your house... for both cooling and heating. All my windows are done now and the worst of the three doors is too. Two more to go.

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have 13 well aged Panasonic panels and haven't paid a CFE bill in 4 years😁 My wife keeps the pool as close to 90F as possible. I fight going above , but, know it is good for her arthritis Solar pool heat, solar hot water with instant gas backup, solar electric. I have a gas pool heater if anyone wants it. Must remove wo damage to property. 

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13 hours ago, Ferret said:

They are not showing on my bill... not even the last one received in December of 2020. Anyway, I'm happy. Since I installed five panels in February of 2018, my bill every two months has been the 46 pesos administration charge and nothing else. In January of last year, I went in to the pay machine in Chapala at the CFE office and paid $300 pesos (a bono) to cover it for a year... since then, my bill is a big fat ZERO.

BTW, saying the number of panels really doesn't mean much unless you specify how many watts each panel is capable of producing in an hour in perfect conditions. Mine are each 350 watt... and some of the newer ones are capable of producing more.

The other thing is that putting in solar is slapping a bandaid on the problem if you don't take care of the air leaks in your house... for both cooling and heating. All my windows are done now and the worst of the three doors is too. Two more to go.

Our dear Ferret. If you are fixing all your airleaks, be careful if you close the vents to the fireplace or use those propane catalytic heaters that are not meant to be used indoors. Many people die from this poisoning, and I am hoping we can keep you around for at least another 50+ years!

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I don't have a fireplace thank you. I have a small electric "wood stove" with a thermostat that goes on and off as needed but pretend flames that impart a lovely ambience all the time (during the cold weather). I planned for the "wood stove" and my countertop convection oven  before installing the panels. If I use my kitchen stove top (propane), I crack a window in the kitchen slightly. I appreciate your concern though and those are excellent points to consider. ;)

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5 hours ago, CHILLIN said:

Our dear Ferret. If you are fixing all your airleaks, be careful if you close the vents to the fireplace or use those propane catalytic heaters that are not meant to be used indoors. Many people die from this poisoning, and I am hoping we can keep you around for at least another 50+ years!

No problem using modern Cat heaters.  Mine has an oxygen sensor. After the panels warm up they mostly emit water vapor.  I do have a carbon monoxide alarm and it never goes off. NON cat heaters you are correct. 

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  • 3 months later...

After never having a bill over 1000 pesos, my most recent one is 9600 !.  No idea why, nothing has really changed. I don't use electric heaters and have only recently used one small high efficiency AC at night. Having a local attorney contact CFE what if anything can be done. Watching my meter like a hawk now

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If you have a higher bill than you think is possible, turn off everything electric and look at your meter. See if it is still recording electricity.  Twice I have had neighbors stealing my electricity. Both times it was foreigners who thought stealing was OK. 

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On 1/9/2021 at 12:42 AM, AngusMactavish said:

Nobody has mentioned the possibility that another house has tapped into their power line.

About 15 years ago our very low  rate jumper to $40,000!!!!!  Took the meter reading (no digital meters then) to CFE office along with previous 6 bills and talked to manager. He altered the bill on the spot to what our normal use was. Happened again next time. Repeated the process.  This time they sent out "inspectors" who determined a close-by car  repair shop had tapped into our meter (located 1/2 block from (rented) house..... don't ask.) Price adjusted accordingly, and  CFE dealt with culprit.

We have solar hot water (landlord installed) and no costly extras---- pressure system, pool, fountain, etc.  In all our years here in 3 houses we have never   had a bill exceeding $350 pesos (apart from above)---even tho' all houses have been large.

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4 hours ago, Joco said:

If you have a higher bill than you think is possible, turn off everything electric and look at your meter. See if it is still recording electricity.  Twice I have had neighbors stealing my electricity. Both times it was foreigners who thought stealing was OK. 

Did you take a picture of how they were doing this?  Hard for me to see how this can be done without being obvious.  

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16 minutes ago, Mainecoons said:

Did you take a picture of how they were doing this?  Hard for me to see how this can be done without being obvious.  

I've known MANY who have fallen prey to this and have personally seen brazen examples. It's apparently been a common practice for generations. Often used by contractors building or renovating, among many other reasons.  And sadly it's a lot easier than one might think. 

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I have no idea why, but our last few CFE bills have been lower than ever.  Most recent one was 222 pesos (5.50 USD per month) so not worth getting solar.  We have lots of light bulbs, 5 ceiling fans, TV's, and computers/chargers, dishwasher, washing machine, etc.  Some folks in our coto have similar homes and use about the same things we use and their bills are much higher.  Our meter is fairly new and was installed by CFE when we did a remodel.  There is no "diablito" device installed and we are not really all that careful about usage.  Sometimes I think we are just lucky.  But I'm not going to question CFE about it...sleeping dogs, etc.  Alan

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35 minutes ago, Mainecoons said:

Did you take a picture of how they were doing this?  Hard for me to see how this can be done without being obvious.  

I've seen a couple of different contractors tap into power lines of the house beside which they worked. Very hidden often unless you are looking.

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If they are tapping into the "power lines" I don't think it would show extra usage on the bill.  They are robbing the power before it gets to the meter.  I think the bills reflect only what travels through  the measuring device (meter) and not what is traveling through the overhead lines.  I have seen many carnival operators, welders, and construction crews drape a bare wire end over a hot power line that is nowhere near a meter or in some cases to work on a house that doesn't even have electricity yet.  Not sure how it is being billed to anybody else.  Alan

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4 minutes ago, barrbower said:

If they are tapping into the "power lines" I don't think it would show extra usage on the bill.  They are robbing the power before it gets to the meter.  I think the bills reflect only what travels through  the measuring device (meter) and not what is traveling through the overhead lines.  I have seen many carnival operators, welders, and construction crews drape a bare wire end over a hot power line that is nowhere near a meter or in some cases to work on a house that doesn't even have electricity yet.  Not sure how it is being billed to anybody else.  Alan

You are correct.  The meter measures what passes through it.  

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52 minutes ago, Mainecoons said:

Did you take a picture of how they were doing this?  Hard for me to see how this can be done without being obvious.  

Really? It was obvious to CFE who cut the line from my meter to the bandito's house. The thief yelled at me because CFE cut his electricity that was hooked up to my meter without giving him a notice. You know who this nut job is if I told you but he has since moved back to whatever redneck town in Appalachia he came from.  The second one was another house that became obvious after she moved next door to me her meter never moved and my bill was 4 times what it was before. After I moved out, she went crazy with the electric and stuck my landlord with a $5000 peso bill that he couldn't pay so he lost his meter. It takes all kinds.

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24 minutes ago, AndyPanda said:

I've seen a couple of different contractors tap into power lines of the house beside which they worked. Very hidden often unless you are looking.

That's common and one reason we pay so much for electric to make up for all the theft. 

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25 minutes ago, barrbower said:

If they are tapping into the "power lines" I don't think it would show extra usage on the bill.  They are robbing the power before it gets to the meter.  I think the bills reflect only what travels through  the measuring device (meter) and not what is traveling through the overhead lines.  I have seen many carnival operators, welders, and construction crews drape a bare wire end over a hot power line that is nowhere near a meter or in some cases to work on a house that doesn't even have electricity yet.  Not sure how it is being billed to anybody else.  Alan

There are always instances of that kind of theft, but I am telling you what I saw, and have experienced. The power lines going into the house from the meter were strung up almost as high as your cable TV, your phone, etc. before they entered the house, and those were the tap points. Don't kid yourself. It's a common occurrence. Talk to any of our solar experts who deal with CFE wiring/cabling/bills all day long; they have some interesting stories of the most unusual ways they have uncovered energy culprits.

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If you have a common wall with another house, the neighbor can use a common detector to locate the backside of your outlets on that wall and tap into the wires for a 'free outlet' on his side of the wall. There are other variations on the theme........

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I remember on one of my first trips to Mexico City over 40 years ago, walking along one of the main streets lined with stalls and vendors of all kinds. I looked down and saw a web of tangled electric wire and followed them up nearby poles and saw them somehow hooked into the power lines up top. I had a good laugh then but now know that this is everyday life here!!!

 

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On 4/14/2021 at 1:35 PM, Ferret said:

Thanks! I'm out of reactions again. :(

Just checked the back of my most recent bill.... and the information given is not the same as the difference between the two meter readings. Sigh.

Higher?   Lower?    The "bolsa de energia" should reflect the most recent 12 months and take both credits, and use of credits, into account.    Plus....well....it's CFE... you know.

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9 hours ago, RVGRINGO said:

If you have a common wall with another house, the neighbor can use a common detector to locate the backside of your outlets on that wall and tap into the wires for a 'free outlet' on his side of the wall. There are other variations on the theme........

One good reason not to build your house right on the property line.

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