Utilities in Puerto Morelos

Last updated 11/15/24 ~SB / Última actualización 15/11/24 ~SB

Whether you rent long-term or own your own home here in Puerto Morelos, one of the things you’ll need to know how to manage is paying your utilities. Thankfully we live in a time when there are lots of options both in-person and online, so stick around and we’ll go through the list.

Electricity

CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad) is THE electricity company in Mexico, as it’s owned by the federal government. Your CFE bill is frequently required as proof of address for other transactions, so it is important to get it set up well and to hang on to the paper copies of the bill each month.

When you purchase a new home here, you’ll need to go to a CFE office in Cancún to request a contract. Here’s a link to the official CFE informational brochure in Spanish, but in my experience you’ll need to take the following documents along including:

• • • For new construction, a letter you’ll receive at closing on CFE letterhead stating that the property is ready for electricity to be installed – if in a fraccionamiento, it should be accompanied by a page with a chart of all the homes/condos in your area of the neighborhood – make sure you find yours on the list. Bring a photocopy.
    • Cedula Catastral – a green piece of paper on Ayuntamiento de Puerto Morelos letterhead showing the property address and specifications about the size of construction, lot size, and value of the home, among other things – you’ll get this at closing. Make sure to bring a photocopy.
    • If you have an RFC number (a Mexican tax ID number that is being required for more and more processes here, even if you’re a temporary resident and don’t have any tax responsibility), bring that paperwork as well so your RFC number can be added to your account. This will be important to have on your account later if/when you go to sell your house (but the explanation is for another post on another day!), but it is NOT necessary at this time to get your CFE account up and running. You can do it as soon as you get your RFC number down the road too.
    • Your actual passport and a photocopy of the main data page of your passport.
    • Once you’re there, you’ll need to fill out a form that can be obtained at the CFE office titled “Solicitud para la prestación del servicio de energía en baja tensión”. I really wish it were available online, but it is not. The form is a bit confusing, but the staff members will often help guide you through what needs to be filled out (there are portions that can remain blank). This form needs to be signed by you at the bottom, so if someone else is going for you please make sure you sign it while you’re still here in Mexico.
    • If you can’t go to CFE in person and have someone else who will go for you, you’ll need to type up or find a “Carta Poder” or power of attorney form online to print out. In the end it will need 4 signatures: yours, the person who is going in your place and 2 witnesses. Everyone MUST sign exactly as it appears on their passports or it will be rejected. Make sure to make a copy of the form that all 4 of you have signed. In my experience it does not have to be notarized.
    • All 4 of you who signed the Carta Poder must send a copy of their main passport page along too.
    • Know that you may have to go more than once, even if you bring all of the paperwork above with you. They are very strict with documentation requirements.
    • Once you’re at CFE and they review and approve all the documentation, they’ll give you a paper receipt with large handwritten letters/numbers on it (your contract number – be sure to take a photo or write that down somewhere you can find it again later). You’ll take that paper home, put it in a ziplock baggie and tape it to the spot outside where the meter should go so that CFE will see it when they come out to install the meter.
    • If they don’t install the meter within the timeframe they tell you to expect (it used to be a week, but I know recently they’ve been telling people they’re out of meters so it has been as long as a month!!), have your account number handy and call 071 from a Mexican phone number and you can ask for updates on the status.
    • Of the various CFE offices in Cancún I’ve been to (Google for the current list), I’ve always had better luck at this location:
      • CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad) Zona Cancún (Designated as A on the map below)
        • Address: Av. José López Portillo 45, 77524 Cancún, Q.R.
        • Hours: ATM-like machines open 24 hours; Office hours are reduced – I believe 8am-3pm in most locations
        • Phone: 998 373 7103

The bills are available on the CFE app digitally, otherwise, they come around and leave paper copies in the front door or the front gate of your property (or possibly with admin if you’re in a gated community) every 2 months. CFE has a detailed explanation of the bill here in Spanish, but I also found this detailed CFE bill explanation in English. 

Basically you’ll want to pay attention to your client number (número de cliente), the amount due (total a pagar) and your usage (check for the teeny tiny arrow on the colorful bar on the front of the bill – the closer you are to red the higher your usage and the closer you are to being put into the DAC category ( “Domestic High Consumtion”at a MUCH higher rate). If you added your RFC number to your account, check that your RFC number appears on the back of the bill in the area to the right of the QR code.

You can pay CFE on the app if you have a Mexican credit or debit card. Otherwise, you can pay at any Oxxo (cash or Mexican card only!), 7-Eleven, BBVA, Banco Azteca, Walmart or any other business whose logo appears at the bottom of the back side of the bill for a small fee. If you happen to be in Cancun or Playa when your bill is due, you can take it to a CFE office and pay at one of their ATM-like CFEMatico machines as well. NOTE: If your payment is beyond the “fecha limite” you’ll need to go to a CFE office in Cancun to pay it.

LP Gas

Most homes here in Puerto Morelos use gas for cooking, and those who have dryers or hot water heaters typically opt for gas too since electricity is more costly. Homes can have either stationary tanks or portable tanks, so depending on what type your home has, you’ll need to use different companies to fill your tanks.

Either way, the process is similar – you send a WhatsApp message to the company requesting that they come to fill your tank and provide your address. It is best to do this in the morning, as the tanker trucks only hold so much gas and when they empty they won’t be refilled until the next day.

When they arrive at your home they’ll either fill your stationary tank or they’ll pick-up your empty portable tank and return it the next day (make sure to write your name and address on the tank in permanent marker if it’s important to you that you get back your exact tank). For that reason, if you have portable tanks I recommend that you have 2 portable tanks so that you can swap out the empty one and still have gas to function until the refilled tank is returned. You’ll pay the driver directly when they are delivering your gas.

Companies that I’m aware deliver to Puerto Morelos include:

• Zeta Gas Sureste – portable tanks – WhatsApp +52-998-881-3100
• Soni Gas – stationary tanks – WhatsApp +52-998-130-5171
• Gas Imperial Cancún – stationary or portable tanks – WhatsApp +52-998-409-0453
• Gas Tomza Cancún – stationary tanks – WhatsApp +52-998-898-0616

I hope that’s all helpful information for you as you learn to handle all of life’s little details here in Puerto Morelos. It really is easy once you get the hang of where to go and what to do, and you’ll find folks to generally be really friendly and willing to help show you the ropes. Enjoy your time here in our beautiful little town!