Study finds CFE electricity service is of poorer quality and more costly than competing countries

By Daisy Gutiérrez Palma
El Economista

Mexico's electrical service is of lower quality and costs more than many of the countries with which it competes internationally, according to a new study.

An investigation by Eduardo Martinez Chombo, a utilities expert at the Colegio de Mexico, ranked Mexico 16th of the 19 countries that were studied, putting it behind South Korea, the United States, Hungary, Portugal, Turkey, Brazil, China, Malaysia and Poland.

In the last decade, according to the study, average electricity prices in Mexico have passed those in the United States after staying below U.S. rates the previous 25 years.

The high cost in Mexico is explained partly by the high prices of the combustibles that the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) uses to produce electricity, costs related to electricity theft and labor costs.

For CFE to improve costs and quality, said Mitra Energy's Alexander Alvarez, the utility needs a 20 percent increase in its 2011 budget.

eleconomista.com.mx/industrias/2010/07/27/electricidad-cfe-cara-mal-servicio