Tuesday, June 02, 2015

CFE really sucks

CFE (la Comisión) is just getting worse and worse ... and with this latest adventure we find they did not do the initial install to my pole correctly.  Then there were/are the "smart meters" that eliminate meter readers (people) and force the home owner to read it once a month and then pay only at a CFE Office which is 40 minutes away in our case.

I can only assume they now ignore requests to cut trees that are impinging on your or community power lines. They used to be quite good showing up within weeks and never over a month. I used to call on the average of twice a year.  This year I first requested help 4 months ago and 2 times since and still nothing. 

I finally decided to pay and a neighbor that has a chain saw said he would but knew the lot owner (tree owner) and would talk to her first.  Turns out that talking to the owner first is not a good idea in this case because my chain saw neighbor didn't want to touch "her mango tree". That left me with the option of me doing it or the crazy machete neighbor who does a lot of things while people are not looking.

All was going well until we came across a large branch with a very large termite nest. Very heavy, above my lines and hard to control. It only brushed the lines as it came down but that's when we realized they had not tied the ground wire to the pole but only connected 3 wire together. The ground cable is an uncovered heavy cable that gives strength to your connections if it's done right.   The bottom foto shows it pretty well with the secured ground and the loops are 2 legs of the 120 volts.

The machete guy only wanted 100 pesos and I gave him 200. I spent one night without power (no fan and no TV), the real electrician wanted 200 pesos and is also a plumber (I like him). And sorry lot owning lady who visits once a year, does not clean the lot or trim trees and wants her few mangoes .... my power lines come first. If it were up to me I'd cut the whole thing down.

No more CFE tree trimmers

From my roof - power line upper right

From the street - not pretty but not near my lines

Proper way to attach CFE power to my pole


5 comments:

Barbara said...

In SMA to even trim a tree, one must get a permit and show proof that it is your property. Then the city comes out and measures the circumference of the trunk and decides if you can trim it. NO trees supposedly, can be cut down anymore. CFE has never trimmed trees here..........We also don't have those Smart Meters and can choose to pay our bill online or at a myriad of places including OXXO. Have you asked at OXXO if you can pay your CFE bill? Good luck...........

hank said...

C'mon, sparks. The nearest CFE office is but 15 minutes from you.

sparks said...

I'm 15 minutes from Melaque and another 35 from Cihuatlan. Neighbors that got those smart meters don't have a car so a lot of walking and a bus for them

sparks said...

I can pay CFE at lots of places .... but if you have a smart meter only at a CFE office. It requires a "smart card reader"

hank said...

Well you said "our" case. So in your case, 20 minutes max to the CFE office.

The construction of the house finished in April 2011 and I'm pretty much settled in. As of March 2014 I'm in preparation for rain mode for this coming summer. That includes sealing and painting things and dealing with drainage issues from last year.

Sparks Mexico Web
Manzanillo Information
House building in Pinal Villa

Archivo del blog

Expat.com

Expat Exchange