Stolen electricity cost the Federal Electricity Commission 30 billion pesos (US $1.57 billion) last year, and technical issues accounted for a similar loss.
The state utility’s chief financial officer, José Antonio Rojas Nieto, said that 7% of the power the commission generates is stolen, while a similar percentage is lost due to technical failures.
CFE director Manuel Bartlett Díaz said that while electricity theft is a delicate issue, it’s not only small businesses that are responsible.
“There has always been power theft by large businesses, by hotels and large industries . . . It’s not the small ones . . . not even a whole neighborhood can steal as much as a business,” he said.
The theft of electricity by large firms has been happening for years, he continued, asserting that it was known they were not paying for it because murky dealings existed. “This is a situation we must now fight against.”
“We must check that all the large businesses are paying what they owe.”
Source: El Economista (sp)
