CFE WTF ?

Yesterday we got a power bill for $3000.00 (usually $500-$600) at our office . We have had no unusual activities there except there is a major remodelling job going on in the same building in an office upstairs. It has mostly involved a lot of banging and cement work but there for a while, a while that directly corresponds with the jump in our bill, they were using Taladros (drills?) and "sawing machines" according to my husband.
The building is old and used to be just one building, but was made into several smaller spaces years ago so there is just no telling about the wiring. They have a meter but I don't know if they have contracted service, the owner of the building is a major tightwad. They did have a very large generator parked out frount for a couple of days a long while back but we didn't think to pay attention and wonder where they were getting power every time they used an electric tool since then. Now they are not using any electric machinery that we can detect just by listening to what goes on, so we are waiting for that oportunity to catch them.

Yesterday the husband went to CFE with the bill and told them what he suspected and they were just like..."well, good luck with that" and "you still have to pay or we will cut u off" so he paid and left . Now I would have handeled that a little differently, but he is not a fighter.
I would like for someone from CFE to come out and have a look at the situation but since you have to go in there and cough up a lung or something just to get them to come out and do repairs I can't imagine why they would come out to see if our neighbors are stealing electricity.

I have looked on the CFE website and I see nothing about denuncias for this sort of thing. Since our meter is stuck directly on our building and there is no way to tap into the line between the meter and the office, would it even be possible for them to steal our electricity?

I did a little research on line and read this about what happens if someone hooks onto the line before your meter:

"You only pay for what is after the meter, but a heavy load on your line before the meter can reduce your voltage like a brown out and equipment suffering from reduced voltage but having a steady watt requirement draw more amps. Your electric meter is an amp hour meter so when you are drawing more amps you are drawing more electricity you pay for. Brown outs cost you some money."

Also, I am thinking that this is the first bill since they installed the new power lines and I am wondering if that could have caused a jump? I know there have been previous discussions about unexplained jumps in electricty usage but I don't recall any where theft was suspected.

Do taladros and "sawing machines" pull a lot of electricity? Enough to make such a big jump?

Did you confirm the meter reading?

Yes, husband wrote the #'s down and took them with him.... Cfe says that the numbers and the charge is correct.
I unplugged everything and checked our meter today, it didn't move. the workers were upstairs using just hand tools.
I took a picture of their meter too...not sure why yet.

Ms.Thang wrote:Yesterday we got a power bill for $3000.00 (usually $500-$600) at our office . We have had no unusual activities there except there is a major remodelling job going on in the same building in an office upstairs. It has mostly involved a lot of banging and cement work but there for a while, a while that directly corresponds with the jump in our bill, they were using Taladros (drills?) and "sawing machines" according to my husband.
The building is old and used to be just one building, but was made into several smaller spaces years ago so there is just no telling about the wiring. They have a meter but I don't know if they have contracted service, the owner of the building is a major tightwad. They did have a very large generator parked out frount for a couple of days a long while back but we didn't think to pay attention and wonder where they were getting power every time they used an electric tool since then. Now they are not using any electric machinery that we can detect just by listening to what goes on, so we are waiting for that oportunity to catch them.

Yesterday the husband went to CFE with the bill and told them what he suspected and they were just like..."well, good luck with that" and "you still have to pay or we will cut u off" so he paid and left . Now I would have handeled that a little differently, but he is not a fighter.
I would like for someone from CFE to come out and have a look at the situation but since you have to go in there and cough up a lung or something just to get them to come out and do repairs I can't imagine why they would come out to see if our neighbors are stealing electricity.

I have looked on the CFE website and I see nothing about denuncias for this sort of thing. Since our meter is stuck directly on our building and there is no way to tap into the line between the meter and the office, would it even be possible for them to steal our electricity?

I did a little research on line and read this about what happens if someone hooks onto the line before your meter:

"You only pay for what is after the meter, but a heavy load on your line before the meter can reduce your voltage like a brown out and equipment suffering from reduced voltage but having a steady watt requirement draw more amps. Your electric meter is an amp hour meter so when you are drawing more amps you are drawing more electricity you pay for. Brown outs cost you some money."

Also, I am thinking that this is the first bill since they installed the new power lines and I am wondering if that could have caused a jump? I know there have been previous discussions about unexplained jumps in electricty usage but I don't recall any where theft was suspected.

Do taladros and "sawing machines" pull a lot of electricity? Enough to make such a big jump?

I'm not sure about Mexico.. but... anywhere else.... what happens after the meter is your problem...
I would suggest you throw the Main on the Power Panel and see if it turns off your neighbors...
If it does... seek compensation, or refuse to turn it back on...
As for the landlord... with problems like that... I'd just get out of there

We plan on throwing the main next time we hear anything electrical. The remodeling project has been empty for years and is not inhabited now, except for the workers that are in there during the day.
There has to be an explanation for such high usage, we are just not sure of all of the ways to look for it and have no idea if power tools could even use that much.

My husbands office is in a building right on the main street in Chapala, been there over 20 years, moving is out of the cuestion.

Hire an electrician to do a proper check of the system.
CFE has no obligation past the meter.

Did you compare the kwh consumption for this billing period to that of last year? The bill has a small graph on it that shows what was used last year vs this year.

Last October billing = 116
this October billing = 988
last bill before this one (august) = 145

Ms.Thang wrote:Last October billing = 116
this October billing = 988
last bill before this one (august) = 145

Most likely it will be worth spending 300 or 400 pesos to have a good electrician look into this.

were they welding?
Did your lights blink a lot?

Although I agree something is very wrong. Remember that if the total KWH consumed over the previous 12 months is greater than 3000KWH, you stop receiving the government subsidy and you rates more than double or triple.

You might start reading your meter every day and note how many KWH you used. What, you don't know how to read your meter? Mr. Google will explain it to you.

I check mine every day more out of interest than need. I have solar photo-voltaic panels and simply stop as I drive out to the street, open the window and look at and write down the usage, and amount generated. I generated only 19.8 KWH today. On a good sunny summer day, I can generate ove 25KWH per day (By watching what electrical thing I have on, and by checking my daily usage, I'm not caught by surprise, unless like last time, two numbers were transposed on the bill, and I had to take a photo of my meter to CFE and they corrected their error)

We had an outrageous bill at the last place we rented. Got an electrician in to check everything.
A voltage regulator for the TV was RED HOT but it was still working. When the electrician unplugged it and then replugged it in, it was dead. We replaced the voltage regulator and the kilowatts went way down...BUT, that faulty regulator (theirs) put us in DAC rates and we paid through the nose after that. Guess we should be happy that we didn't have to replace their TV too.
Devices such as voltage regulators and surge protectors are not foolproof and need to be checked regularly.
Just a heads up.

Pete, I love it that you check your meter every day just because you are interested...somehow that is very endearing. I will definately learn to do this and make it a daily habit, especially while the remodeling project is still going on. Great suggestion.

We have not exceeded 150 kwh looking 2 years back. I like the idea of getting an electrician out to have a look, we know one that does not even charge us. I guess it does make sense that CFE would have no responsability past the meter.

Lights have not blinked that I am aware of ....they have definately been welding up there, and jack hammering , sawing and drilling and playing a radio ...but most days they are just pounding...and we don't live there so a lot of the time we don't know what they are doing. I

We are not on the best of terms or I would go up there and ask some questions, look around. We really have nothing that could be draining that much luz....

Maybe, good terms or not, you should go up there and poke around and ask questions so that, at least, they know you are aware of the situation and are looking into it.

Lots of good suggestions here. In terms of documenting the meter readings regularly, I would say it might be better to take a digital photo of the meter with a time/date stamp instead of just writing down the numbers. This proved effective for me once in a CFE dispute.

Muy buena suerte, however, you are dealing with the power gods.

Ms. Thang, then you'll love me as well, I not only check daily, but record it on a rather complex spreadsheet and can tell within a few pesos the bill, but more important, if something goes wonky, I know immediately and the watt meter for checking usage for each appliance is invaluable here.

PS: for all of those so proud of their low CFE bills, you do realize you can thank me and others here for paying "your fair share" of the bill. The 75%+ socialized subsidization is at our expense, not because you're so thrifty.

Ms.Thang wrote:We plan on throwing the main next time we hear anything electrical. The remodeling project has been empty for years and is not inhabited now, except for the workers that are in there during the day.
There has to be an explanation for such high usage, we are just not sure of all of the ways to look for it and have no idea if power tools could even use that much.

My husbands office is in a building right on the main street in Chapala, been there over 20 years, moving is out of the cuestion.

Ms.Thang.....great idea.....throw the main, and you will immediately have your answer! If refrigeration is not an issue, leave it off....they will find another set of wires that are hot, and become someone else's problem......however my preferred solution is to turn it back on, and get CFE rep there pronto......I am sure CFE would have no problem walking upstairs and note violation.......I know...my bad this is Mexico

B&T wrote:

PS: for all of those so proud of their low CFE bills, you do realize you can thank me and others here for paying "your fair share" of the bill. The 75%+ socialized subsidization is at our expense, not because you're so thrifty.

Muchisimas gracias,que Dios te bendiga!
And how's the weather out your way?

Si, B&T, thank you soooooo much!

"Jim W [quote]
Ms.Thang.....great idea.....throw the main, and you will immediately have your answer! If refrigeration is not an issue, leave it off....they will find another set of wires that are hot, and become someone else's problem......however my preferred solution is to turn it back on, and get CFE rep there pronto......I am sure CFE would have no problem walking upstairs and note violation.......I know...my bad this is Mexico

No, Jim. CFE has no interest in what happens beyond the meter, and they will not respond.

But those high prices do motivate many of us to economize and/or to get photo-voltaic help.

I too, have my "KILL A WATT" meter sitting in front of me.

It's a great hobby keeping our rates as low as we can, and saves funds for other more fun things.

It's amazing how many KWH (how much electricity) you can save just by understanding the who what and wheres of electric usage.

In my case, I might be inclined to spend my time doing spreadsheets on things far more interesting: price of ron, price of tequila and even the price of the occasional cerveza that I consume. Going out to make a daily meter reading isn't something that would "trip my trigger". As a matter of fact, it sounds a bit "anal" to me? Good gracious, I would have to cancel an exploratory trip somewhere because I wouldn't be home to log my usage!

Then again, I would then have an excuse as to why I had never been anywhere in Mexico and hadn't immersed myself into the culture and history of Mexico!

B&T wrote:

PS: for all of those so proud of their low CFE bills, you do realize you can thank me and others here for paying "your fair share" of the bill. The 75%+ socialized subsidization is at our expense, not because you're so thrifty.

I guess that those who complain about Mexicans going to the US and living like Mexicans there, are fair game when they come to Mexico and want to live like Americans here and then complain about it.

Get off your high horse and stop being such an energy hog.

DonPito wrote:

B&T wrote:

PS: for all of those so proud of their low CFE bills, you do realize you can thank me and others here for paying "your fair share" of the bill. The 75%+ socialized subsidization is at our expense, not because you're so thrifty.

I guess that those who complain about Mexicans going to the US and living like Mexicans there, are fair game when they come to Mexico and want to live like Americans here and then complain about it.

Get off your high horse and stop being such an energy hog.

Well put DonPito.....B & T has an energy crisis!

[quote="Rolly"]

"Jim W

Ms.Thang.....great idea.....throw the main, and you will immediately have your answer! If refrigeration is not an issue, leave it off....they will find another set of wires that are hot, and become someone else's problem......however my preferred solution is to turn it back on, and get CFE rep there pronto......I am sure CFE would have no problem walking upstairs and note violation.......I know...my bad this is Mexico

No, Jim. CFE has no interest in what happens beyond the meter, and they will not respond.

It is my understandiing now that CFE is not going to be interested in this problem since it is happening behind the meter, but if we hear something using electricity, up there and it goes off when we throw the main then we will know for sure what we ae dealing with and who to talk to.
I believe that they have found a live wire up there and they have tapped into it...they have ripped up all of the flooring and taken whole walls out up there. Remember this building used to be one unit, and was later divided into 6 office spaces.

We do have 1 apartment sized fridge (new and energy efficient running at a low setting, contains only drugs) A computer, 3 lights are on during working hours and three more that get turned off and on as needed. There is an aquarium pump and we have 2 telephones and a coulpe of fans that we use in May , June and july

You guys crack me up with your spread sheets and daily meter readings. I should probably analize my date every day until this is straightened out. Hey, I should have one months worth of #'s to analize now, right?

Got a question...do you have gravity fed water?...an aljibe with a pump and pressure tank?
We just squashed another energy drain. Every time I turned on a tap, the pump came on. I thought the bladder had rotted and we would have to replace the pressure tank. Turns out that the air pressure had leaked out of the pressure tank through a faulty valve at the top. Replaced the valve and pressurized the tank with a portable compressor. Now the pump comes on 70% less frequently...that saves energy because the biggest electrical drain is the start up of the pump.