Electricity consumption, subsidies, and policy inequalities in Mexico: Data from 100,000 households

Abstract

This paper estimates electricity consumption and subsidies for each of the Mexican households surveyed in the ENCEVI and the ENIGH in 2018. Using information from the Mexican Utility Federal Electricity Commission (CFE, Comisión Federal de Electricidad), we expand these two datasets into a comprehensive source of electricity consumption for 100,000 households representative of all of Mexico. Our estimates show that large consumers receive large subsidies, with the top 20 % of the highest consuming households receiving 50 % of the subsidies. We also find that electricity consumption is determined by socio-economic status. In the extremely hot region, families in the highest income decile consume 57 %–66 % more than those in the lowest. For this reason, Mexicans in the highest income brackets benefit the most from subsidies; the average subsidy per household for those in the two highest income brackets is almost twice the average subsidy for those in the lowest bracket.