Public supply services (water, electricity and gas) play an essential role in economic and social development. In Mexico, The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) is in charge of providing energy to homes through a meter that calculates the light consumed by each one.
Every two months, a receipt is sent to Mexican homes with the amount to be paid and the energy consumed during the two-month period. However, the CFE has warned about another “document” that has circulated in homes in the name of the company and that is actually false.
According to the same Commission, scammers send a false physical document to the homes of Mexicans. Supposedly, the text notifies that they will be fined for having an ‘altered’ meter and to eliminate said penalty, they are asked to pay 32,000 pesos.
It might interest you: Did you receive the CFE receipt? These are the places to pay electricity and its commissions
If the debt is not settled, the document indicates, the ‘CFE’ will proceed to suspend the electricity service to homes. Unlike other scams, this one is particular because it is a piece of paper with several laws cited to try to ‘legitimize’ the text and thus make citizens fall for it.
In addition, a telephone number is attached for those who like to ‘clarify’ their situation. Obviously, the telephone does not correspond to those of the Commission either. If this job has come to you, be careful, it is best to ignore it and go to the direct offices of the CFE or report it on social networks.
Do you think you really have debts with the CFE? So you can read your meter
First of all, You should know the two types of energy readers that exist. The first is electromagnetic and is identified by the four or five dials with clock-like hands. To interpret it, you must follow the steps that we present below:
- Locate your meter and locate the far right ‘clock’ hand
- Visualize the numbers the hand is pointing to and aim at them
- If the hand is in the middle of two numbers, take into account the immediately lower of the two
- If the number is in the middle of 9 and 0, take the 9
- Continue to do the same for the other three or four ‘clocks’ on your meter, i.e. from right to left.
- Although the reader interprets from left to right, doing it the other way around will work for you to calculate spending in pesos
Reading digital meters is much easier. It will be enough to locate your reader and write down the figure that is at the end of the kWh lines. Whether in analog or digital, with the recorded numbers you can calculate your electricity bill as follows:
- Enter the application CFE with you
- Go to the bottom of the menu and click on ‘consumption simulator’
- Enter the numbers you got from your meter
- Ready! The approximate cost of your consumption period will be displayed
Do you suspect that a neighbor steals your light?
For several years the installation of “little devils” has been practiced to steal the light from other people’s homes. However, today, people who are caught doing this kind of illegal activity could receive a sentence of three to ten years in prison.
The CFE has explained through its official page the steps to follow to find out if there are “little devils” placed in your supply. These are:
- Check that the respective meter has no changes and that it is not open
- Verify that there are no variations in the voltage of household appliances
- The lights in your home should not flicker
- If your home is the only one constantly losing power, that’s a sure sign that someone else might be hanging on your meter.
- If your electricity bills have representative or abnormal increases, be careful
A fine equivalent to one thousand days of salary is estimated. However, the amount may vary depending on the user in question and the characteristics of the crime committed. It is necessary that customers who come to detect an illegal light intake, report through the following channels:
- Call toll-free number 071 and talk to an operator in charge of fraud related to energy
- Go to the offices closest to your home
- Enter the CFE app with you
- Access the CFE profile on Twitter: @cfe_contigo
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