What is the DAC rate on CFE Bill (and how to avoid it)

 

DISCLAIMER: The blogpost is written by PlayaWeatherman

If you own property or rent in the Riviera Maya of Mexico, you probably know that CFE (Comision Federal de Electricidad) is the electricity provider that is operated by the Mexican Federal Government.  

CFE charges for electricity based on amount of usage (measure in kilowatt hours – kWh), location and time of year.  There are different rates (tarifas) based on location (climate zone).  The different tarifa zones are 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, which can be found on the front of your bill.  Each zone has its own maximum usage before you get classified as a high consumption user and placed in the DAC (Doméstica de Alto Consumo) tarifa.  The DAC tarifa has much higher usage costs, so you want to avoid that if possible.

Where we live in the Riviera Maya is considered tarifa 1B, so we can use up to 400 kWh per month (or 800 kWh per 2-month billing cycle).  To be classified into DAC you need to have an average usage per month over the last year of 400 kWh per month.  See the CFE DAC tarifa page to determine your consumption limit if you live in one of the other tarifa zones.  NOTE:  Your tarifa zone is indicated on the top portion of your CFE bill.

So how do I calculate if I might be getting close to being classified into DAC?  It is pretty simple if you have your latest CFE bill.  Using our latest bill (below), here is the process to determine your yearly usage and see if you might be close to entering the DAC zone.

  

1 – Look at page 2 of your CFE bill.

2 – Review your usage history in the upper left corner (it contains the last 2 years of your usage). But the most recent bill is not there, you can get your current bill usage from the front of your bill under the “Total period” column in the “Suma” row.

3 – So to calculate your usage for the last year, take your current usage from the front of the bill and add the first 5 kWh usage numbers from page 2.  Then divide that number by 12 to get your monthly kWh usage.

4 – For the example we have:

611 + 437 + 441 + 372 + 312 + 338 = 2,511 kWh

Divide by 12:  2,511/12 = 209.25 kWh per month for the last year.

So, luckily, we are not close to DAC (400 kWh for tarifa 1B), thank goodness.

You can use this process after every bill to update your current usage to make sure you are not approaching DAC!

Most people only get into DAC if they use their air conditioning on a regular basis.  We only use ours on summer nights in our bedroom for more comfortable sleeping.  Plus, we have dual inverter mini-splits that are very energy efficient.  You may also want to monitor your usage by looking at your CFE meter every week or so.

So, you are now armed with the information to help you avoid the DAC rates and save money!