| | |  News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2009 
Power Theft Costs Blns, Inflated Bills
 Bronson Pettitt - The News
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August 12, 2009
| | The CFE says corruption is detrimental to the economy and increases electricity fees between 10 and 20 percent. (Cuartoscuro/Julieta Mora) | |
Corruption in the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) costs some 1.915 billion dollars per year, inflating electricity bills by as much as 20 percent, officials say.
Federal Deputy CuauhtAcmoc Velasco Oliva criticized the state-owned CFE, saying its corruption is detrimental to the economy and increases electricity fees between 10 and 20 percent.
"We did a series of estimates and arrived to the conclusion that.(the corruption) is worth 11.7 percent of the CFE's total income," said Velasco, who heads the Chamber of Deputies' Energy Commission.
In an interview before the "Corruption, Subsidies and Electricity Fees" forum at the San Lázaro Legislative Palace, Velasco said that on many occasions, users and CFE employees agree to have "diablitos" installed, or techniques to distort the amount of electricity registered on meters or illegally tap electricity from paying customers.
"Corruption directly impacts electricity fees," said the Convergence Party deputy. "It's time for those fees to be set rationally, with lower and adequate costs according to each area and economy."
The forum, he said, hopes to make people aware of corruption and create social and political pressure for change. Customers must realize, Velasco said, that while corruption at the CFE and Central Light and Power (the other half of the electricity duopoly covering south-central Mexico), higher fees will remain. |
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