Domestic Electricity Tariffs Will Rise by 0.6 Percent in January

In January 2023, electricity tariffs for CFE’s basic supply will see an average increase of 0.61 percent compared to December 2022. By December 2023, CFE expects an increase of 7.16 percent. 

The basic rate, with a consumption no greater than 75kWh/month, will rise from MX$0.93/kWh (US$0.048/kWh) to MX$0.94/kWh (US$0.048/kWh) for the first KwHs they consume. The intermediate rate, between 76 and 140 kWh/month, will go from MX$1.14/kWh (US$0.059) to MX$1.15/kWh (US$0.059/kWh). Finally, the excess rate of 141kWh/month will rise from MX$3.34/kWh (US$0.17/kWh) to MX$3.36/kWh (US$0.17/kWh). Likewise, by the end of 2023, the rates will increase to MX$1.01/kWh (US$0.052/kWh), MX$1.23/kWh (US$0.063/kWh) and MX$3.60/kWh (US$0.19/kWh) respectively.

President López Obrador has promised that public prices of energy, such as electricity, LP gas and gasoline, will not rise above inflation growth. The current administration has therefore kept energy prices under control through subsidies. A report by Mexico Evalúa stated that by the end of 3Q22, CFE had already received MX$79.3 billion (US$4.09 billion) to subsidize domestic tariffs, which represented an annual increase of 5 percent in that spending. Most recently, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) announced that it has an MX$76.62 billion (US$3.9 billion) budget reserved to subsidize electricity during 2023. 

Since 2019, subsidies on energy tariffs have increased by about 62 percent. Between January and September 2019, subsidies amounted to MX$48.9 billion (US$2.5 billion), while for the same period in 2020 and 2021, the amounts were MX$71.5 billion (US$3.6 billion) and MX$75.8 billion (US$3.9 billion), respectively.

According to CFE, domestic low-consumption electricity tariffs only increased 5.9 percent until September 2022, despite general inflation hovering around 8 percent. Industrial tariffs increased by 6.3 percent and commercial tariffs by 5.9 percent. "Forty-two million users were protected by this measure to avoid their displacement to the high consumption rate due to the effects of the pandemic. Domestic electricity tariffs in Mexico have had the lowest increase among all G20 countries," CFE explained.

On the other hand, CFE established that starting in 2023, the unsubsidized High Consumption Tariff will have a fixed charge of MX$131.14/kWh (US$6.76/kWh) and a charge for energy consumed of MX$6.74 /kWh (US$347.59/kWh). This represents an annual growth of 4 and 7.4 percent respectively.