Hotel owners are preparing to fight electricity tariff increases of as much as 300%.

The Mexican Association of Hotels and Motels (AMHM) plans to seek injunctions against the new rates, which they say run counter to the objectives of energy reforms.

“We cannot remain indifferent in the face of this abuse on the part of the energy authorities,” AMHM president Rafael García González told a press conference.

He said his organization unsuccessfully sought an explanation from the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), the federal agency responsible for authorizing the tariffs.

Along with the injunctions, the hoteliers will also request compensation from CRE, alleging property damage caused by the new tariffs in several member hotels.

In Baja California Sur, the local chapter of the AMHM has obtained what its president called a suspension.

Paloma Palacios explained that member hotels in the state are paying only 40% of their electric bills after injunctions were obtained.

Over the past year, rates have gone up by 75% in Quintana Roo and Colima, 70% in Baja California Sur, 41% in Tabasco and 27% in Mexico City.

Source: El Financiero (sp)