How much do Mexican households spend on electricity?

Electricity is an indispensable commodity in Mexican households. 99% of homes have electricity. This item represents 5.1% of household spending, according to figures from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (ENIGH, 2020).

Electricity and fuels are among the main items of Mexican household spending. On average, quarterly current monetary spending on this item was 1,523 pesos, which represents 5.1%. This represents an increase concerning previous years since in the 2016 survey, it was one thousand 399 pesos and in 2018, it was one thousand 489 pesos.

In the urban area, it occupies third place in the expenditures made by families, only after food, beverages and tobacco, and transportation, vehicles, and communications. On average, the urban area spends more on this service than the rural area. For example, the average quarterly current expenditure on electricity is 3,285 pesos, for the urban area it was 3,804 pesos, and for the rural area, it was 1,396 pesos.

On average, at the national level, according to the Survey, families spend 507 pesos per month on electricity and fuels.

In Mexico City, households spend an average of 5,837 pesos on housing, electricity and maintenance services, and fuel. Meanwhile, in Chiapas, spending in urban areas is 2,266 pesos and 676 pesos in rural areas. The survey states that 99.2% obtain electricity from the public service of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and 0.5% from another private source (plant, solar panel, and another source).

Consumption in Mexican homes

The National Survey on Energy Consumption in Private Dwellings (ENCEVI, 2018) states that out of 99% of dwellings, 0.10% use solar panels, 0.15% hybrid systems (solar and public grid), and 0.15% particular plant or generator, battery, or electric accumulator.

An important issue is that this same survey indicates that 84% of homes use fluorescent or LED bulbs. In rural areas, 30% of the bulbs are still incandescent, and LED bulbs technology has just been incorporated. Household energy consumption is also due to the use of household appliances, for example:

Refrigerators: at least 28.9 million refrigerators are in use.

Washing machines: 71% of households use washing machines, although this varies between urban and rural locations.

Televisions: there are 24.3 million televisions in the temperate region, 11.2 million in the extreme hot region, and 7.9% in the tropical region.

Fans: 45% of homes in urban areas have fans and 41% in rural areas. In the extremely warm region, 48.1% have air conditioning, 12.4% in the tropical region, and 1.3% in the temperate region.

For cooking, people tend to use LP gas or firewood and charcoal, although 1.9% use other means, for example, electricity and other fuels. In addition, families tend to carry out some practices to save energy, such as turning off light bulbs if they are not in the rooms or disconnecting the cell phone charger if it is not in use. Appliances with the label that certifies operation under the energy efficiency standard (NOM-ENER) are also used: refrigerators (72%), washing machines (65%), air conditioners (56%) heaters (53%), and stoves (43%).

Source: Once Digital