CFE Business Tariffs: Energy and Demand, kWh and kW Explained

The difference in one sentence

Energy (kWh) is how much you used in total. Demand (kW) is how much you used at once. Think of a car: the distance driven is the energy, and the top speed is the demand.

Two businesses can use the same energy and pay very different amounts if one starts everything at the same time. On large business tariffs you are charged for both.

An example with two machines

Imagine two 10 kW machines that each run for one hour. They use the same energy, but not the same demand.

How CFE measures your demand

CFE measures the average power in each 15-minute interval of the period and keeps the highest one. Any fraction of a kW counts as a full kW.

In other words, a single high quarter-hour in the whole month can set what you pay. That's why simultaneous startups matter, for example when opening in the morning or changing shifts.

Which tariff applies to you

What defines your tariff is demand in kW and the voltage level, not how much energy you use each month.

What a kW costs

These are the official October 2026 charges for GDMTO in the Jalisco division, before IVA (Mexican sales tax). They change by division and by month.

At those prices, a demand of 58 kW would add about $9,295 pesos in distribution and up to $17,376 in capacity per month. If you stagger your startups and drop to 30 kW, the difference could be more than $12,000 a month, while producing the same. Capacity has its own formula, so treat this as an order of magnitude.

Peak, mid-peak and base hours

On GDMTH, each kWh costs a different amount depending on the hour. These are the official schedules for the Central, Northeast, Northwest, North, Peninsular and South regions.

Notice the key point: in those regions, peak hours (punta) fall at dusk, when panels produce little or nothing. Baja California and Baja California Sur have their own schedules: in their hot season, peak hours do overlap partly with sun, so the result there can be different.

Power factor and load factor

Power factor (factor de potencia) measures how much of the electricity you receive turns into useful work. Motors and industrial equipment lower it. The published rule applies a surcharge if it falls below 90%, up to 120%, and a credit if it is 90% or more, up to 2.5%. It is usually corrected with capacitors.

Load factor (factor de carga) shows how steady your use is, comparing your energy with what you would use by holding your peak the whole time. A low number means short peaks, so you pay a lot per kW for few kWh.

What solar panels can lower

Always separate energy savings from possible demand savings. Applying one percentage to the whole bill isn't enough justification.

How to lower your demand without panels

Before getting quotes, review these measures. Many cost almost nothing.

• Start motors and large equipment in stages, not all at opening.
• Move whatever processes you can outside peak hours.
• Check whether a compressor, oven or pump can run on another shift.
• Review your power factor if your bill shows a surcharge.
• Watch your maximum demand on each bill and look for what happened that day.

What to gather before asking for a study

With this, an installer can calculate your case instead of assuming it.

• 12 months of bills, with your tariff and voltage.
• Operating hours and shifts.
• A list of your main equipment.
• Interval data from your meter, if you have it: a monthly total doesn't say whether your peak was at noon or at night.
• Planned changes: new shifts, refrigeration, pumping or electric vehicles.
• Photos and measurements of the roof.