Jaltemba Sol...a webzine for those who love Mexico

WANTED - (ENGLISH- SPANISH) SECRETARY-RECEPTIONIST
WILLING TO LEARN, GREAT PRESENTATION AND HONEST
OFFICE HOURS 9.00 TO 5.00 P.M.; MONDAY TO FRIDAY; WILLING TO MOVE TO TEPIC.
SHE WILL HAVE AN OPORTUNITY TO INTER-ACT WITH MEXICAN CULTURE, TAKE CLASSES AT THE UNIVERSITY AND PERHAPS GIVE ENGLISH PRIVATE LESSONS FOR EXTRA INCOME.
SALARY TO BE DISCUSSED.
ANYONE INTERESTED PLEASE CONTACT .
LIC. LIVIER VILLALOBOS VALENCIA
AV. JUAN ESCUTIA # 45
COL. H. CASAS C.P. 63080
311 2120803
2164065

Yucatan Life

If you live here, you know about the CFE: La Comisión Federal de Electricidad. But no one calls it CFE here in Mexico. They call it by its first name only: Comisión, and everyone knows who they are talking about. Electricity is the most expensive utility in Mexico, at least among the expat crowd. Comisión has a great website, where they proudly proclaim, in both English and Spanish, that they are una empresa de clase mundial (A world class company). Empresa de clase mundial

On the website, you can learn about their mission, find out the weather all over Mexico, read the history of the Comisión (did you know that as late as 1937, there were three different companies providing power in Mexico?), read their financial statements, and of course, pay your bill. Oh, oops! You can’t pay your bill there… but they will refer you to a bank (Banamex, Banorte, Inbursa, Bancomer, HSBC or Santander) where you CAN pay your bill online. Of course, there is much MORE information on the Spanish side of the website, but really, the fact that there is an English website at all is rather impressive.

Usually, we have no occasion to read the website. We pay our bills, in cash usually, and we are grateful for reliable electricity. But the other day, due to personal circumstances, we learned something about electricity consumption here in Mexico, and we thought we’d pass it on. This is not something we would have ever known if we hadn’t moved from one house to another and noticed a big change in our electric bill.

In our old office, we worked in a traditional colonial home that had been renovated. Due to a lack of windows, we ran two mini-split air conditioners all day, every day while we were working. We had a small refrigerator. We regularly paid bi-monthly bills of $8,000 pesos or more during the summer months. We figured this was just the cost of doing business.

Flash forward to our new home and office combined. We built this building with air flow in mind. We built higher ceilings, a second story, skylights that open, and a breezeway, so consequently, we have less need for air conditioning, even during the hottest summer days. In addition, this house and office are almost completely new: new walls, new wiring, new fixtures. Electricity flows unimpeded by faulty connections or old wiring. Our appliances are all new, so we have energy-efficient air conditioners and refrigerators (yes, we have two refrigerators). The house and office combined are at least three times larger than the former house and office, and yet the CFE bills have been less than a third of our former bills.

We were extremely grateful for this… but also puzzled. We looked at the meter… yep, the right meter number is on our bill. The meter is turning. The reading on the bill is correct. We were a little afraid to ask, but we called CFE to understand why our new bills are so much lower. Here is what we learned:

If a house uses over 850 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per month, averaged over a year, it will get bumped from the "1C" Tarifa (rate) to the "DAC" Tarifa (De Alto Consumo, which means “of high consumption”). Once this happens, your rate climbs in three ways. First, DAC customers are charged a minimum of $65 pesos per month. Secondly, the Basico (basic) charge for DAC consumers increases from about $0.5 to $2.5 pesos per kilowatt hour (summer prices). The third whammy (that’s the technical term in English for golpe) is that the government does not give you an Aportación Gubernamental (Government Subsidy). That aportación can underwrite more than two thirds of your bill every month, which is certainly not trivial. take a look at our last bill, below, for reference.

If you find yourself still categorized 1C, know that you have to stay under 850 kilowatt hours of average energy consumption per month every year. You’ll enjoy lower energy prices and a government subsidy if you do. If you use more than that for twelve months running, then be prepared for much higher energy bills and no subsidy. If you find yourself already in the DAC category, what can you do? Cut your energy costs down to under 850 kilowatts per month for 12 months, and the CFE computers will (supposedly) lower your rates automatically. If they don’t, here’s what you can do: Take another look at the copy of the bill below. See the column titled, Consumo kWh por dia? Multiply that number by 365 and divide by 12. That’s your average monthly consumption. If the number is less than 850, chances are you qualify, so take a stroll down to La Comisión and ask them to change your Tarifa back to 1C.

If these policies aren’t motivation for cutting energy consumption, we don’t know what is.

CFE rates each city in Mexico according to its average temperature. Merida is a "1C" city, whereas Chelem, por ejemplo (for example) is a 1B city, meaning it’s average temperature is lower (in this case) and warrants less energy usage. The chart below shows the level of Kilowatts per month that the consumer must stay below in order to avoid being charged as a DAC (de alto consumo) customer.

1 up to 250 Kwh/month
1A up to 300 Kwh/month
1B up to 400
1C up to 850
1D up to 1000
1E up to 2000
1F up to 2500

To explain, if you live in Chelem (a 1B city), then you have to keep your consumption below 400 kilowatts per month in order to keep your 1B designation (and your lower rates and your government subsidy). If you live in Merida, you get to consume up to 850 kilowatts per month before moving to the DAC designation.

Hi guys,

Just wanted to drop you line and say how much we enjoy reading the Jaltemba Sol. For those of us who winter down in beautiful Rincon de Guayabitos, you are our only connection with what is happening. You must put in a lot of hard work and effort to produce such a fine publication on an “almost twice weekly “basis. We especially enjoy reading Adam Caddell’s profiles on people in our second community. Keep up the good work and when we get there we would love to buy you a beer at Mateja’s or Hinde and Jaimes.

Jean and Tom from Alaska

Hola Bill and Dot, Really enjoyed this last edition of Jaltemba Sol, especially the information regarding CFE. I visited the sites suggested and found them very en-lighting, Please send this issue to my landlord Dave Jones who manages Cruz Maria RV. Thanks very much, you guys do a great job! Saludos, Irene Lee

Our Adam seems to be a hit among readers Adam Caddell

Hola Dorothy and Bill: Have to tell you that Fred and I can hardly wait for Mondays and Fridays knowing that the Jaltemba Sol will be waiting for us on the computer. Love the articles that Adam has been doing. It brings the people of La Penita that much closer to us. Particularly liked the one on Dr. Lidia and thought that I would add that she often works with families with little or no money. She has a heart bigger than life itself and does a lot with very little. I was able to leave a supply of asthma medications with her last year and she said that she would be able to help so many that otherwise would not have access to these medication as a result of my gift.

Having spent a fair amount of time in her office myself, what with one thing and another I can vouch for her professionalism, her expertise and genuine caring. What you see is what you get. She is to be commended for her work with the less fortunate. I consider myself lucky to be added to her list of patients and highly recommend her services to any that might need them.

Keep up the great work Adam, your articles are a welcome addition to a wonderful, informative newspaper. Look forward to meeting you in person when we return in the fall. Fred and Faye Hodson

To view all of Adam's previous stories click here

Dear Adam: I really enjoy your articles- they have motivated me to try the various businesses. However, there are no addresses given: what town, what street? I've asked my gringo friends, and they don't know either. Very frustrating to me. Another item to include in future articles, whether the business speaks English- remember that your audience is English speaking (especially the large snowbird population during the high season). Thanks for the delightful bios- I look forward to more! Tara Spears
editor note...below is a map and locations of Adam's ongoing features of people in the Jaltemba area...check out previous stories by clicking the "People" button on the left of this page.

Hi Bill and Dot,

Counting the days until we leave home for marvelous Mexico. We had 5 glorious months in NZ and Auz in 2008 but back to Mexico this year.

Is there a website that gives me current prices of diesel in Mexico?? If you don’t know I don’t think anyone else would!!

Thanks

Nancy and Larry Schnurr

Fuel Prices ( July 18, 2008 )
Magna (Gasoline)	6.92 pesos per liter	$2.53US per gallon (approx.)
Premium (Gasoline)	8.64 pesos per liter	$3.16US per gallon (approx.)
Diesel	5.91 pesos per liter	$2.16US per gallon (approx.)