Utilities in Cabo

Moving to a new country means accepting that not all processes are going to necessarily run the same way as they do at home. This is especially true of a less developed country like Mexico.

Upon moving in to our rental in Cabo San Lucas, we found we had a lot to learn with regards to the connection and continued supply of utilities (electricity, gas, water and internet). The process can be somewhat clunky and confusing and you generally need to allow for a ‘grace’ period of trial and error.

I’ll detail below our experience with each but perhaps needs to highlight that our experience is specific to the area of El Tezal in CSL and doesn’t necessarily translate to all areas across Los Cabos. I will try to provide general helpful links where possible but ask you to remember that what applies to us may not necessarily be exactly true for someone in San Jose for example.

Other factors also will vary across region and, at a more granular level, vary between different homes and condos (i.e. size of water tank on property or whether solar panels have been installed etc).

ELECTRICITY

Electricity is significantly cheaper in Mexico than what we are used to paying in Australia. We learnt pretty quickly also that how often you use your air conditioner will impact the amount of your bills immensely. This means expect to pay more during the Summer months (more specifically July/Aug/Sept) than you would during Jan/Feb/March.

Our electricity is supplied by the wholly federal-owned CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad) which is the dominant electrical company in all of Mexico. As a renter, our bill remains in the name of the landlord/house owner. If you are moving in as the new owner of the property, you need to require proof of ownership as well as a letter from the previous owner requesting a transfer of name.

Moving into a gated community where you typically don’t have a traditional letterbox to receive mail, we discovered our bills (electricity and water) were either handed to us by the guard or left stuck to or under your front door (although check other access areas of the home as they have also been known to leave in meter box, under garage door etc).

Paying Your CFE Bill

Bills are calculated bi-monthly and, as we are non-residents and not the property owner, we have to pay our bills in person at one of the following retail outlets;

Oxxo ( our preferred)	7-Eleven	Chedraui	Bodega Aurrera
Circle K	Extra	Famacias del Ahorro	Super Farmacia
Six	Walmart	Sam’s Club	Telecomm

There are options for paying on-line for those who have the bills issued in their name as the CFE account number would also be in your name. The CFE site itself does not have a strong reputation for reliability but I have read of those having success using XOOM to transfer funds or pay via PayPal (Western Union being another common one). Some homeowners here recommend setting up a Mexican bank account so that you can set up automatic payments

IMPORTANT NOTE: We have heard that the CFE are pretty strict and require payment generally within a week or they WILL cut your power off (I have heard if you are 3 or more days overdue is generally the max amount of grace period you have). So if you are planning on being away, make sure you check when your electricity bill is due and make arrangements with a friend or neighbor to have them pay it for you. For property owners, either register on the CFE website or set up automatic payments (particularly if you plan to Airbnb) .

CFE Bill Explained

Interpreting the bill (as seen in pic below) the most relevant to note as follows;

“No. de Sevicio”: Your contract number at CFE for the property connection

“Limite de pago”: The last date you can pay your bill before CFE has the option of cutting your power (which they promptly will do and then charge you a re-connection fee)

“Corte a partir“: The date your electricity power will be cut if bill not paid by last due date

“Total a Pagar”: The amount owing in pesos (mx)

Typical examples of cost

To provide a general understanding of electricity costs I’ll outline the yearly charges for a 3-bedroom/2.5 bathroom home in El Tezal, BCS with 1 x air-conditioning unit downstairs and 3 x air-conditioning units upstairs in each of the bedrooms. There are 2 x adults living in the house full-time with 1 x bedroom used as a full-time study.

This outlines our household; in the warmest months we generally have 2 x air-conditioners operating all day (downstairs and in the study for about 12 hrs a day) and all night in the main bedroom (about 8 hours). This would be considered peak usage and generally starts around April till end-October.

For 2021/2022, our bills were as follows;

Peak usage (2021)

Bill Period	Pesos (MX)	*USD (approx)	*AUD (approx)
2nd June till 3rd August	$6,960	$332	$450
3rd August till 4th October	$9,080	$433	$587
4th Oct till 2nd December	$5,075	$241	$327

Low usage (21/22)

Bill Period	Pesos (MX)	*USD (approx)	*AUD (approx)
2nd Dec till 2nd February	waiting on bill	N/A	N/A
2nd Feb till 5th April	$2,580	$123	$167
5th April till 2nd June	$4,440	$212	$288

GAS

The process to ensure you have a consistent supply of gas is quite archaic compared to what we are used to back in Oz. It is actually quite manual and entirely reliant on the tenant to ensure gas is ordered before it runs out (well at least this is true in our case).

For information relating to Caligas in Baja California as well as contact info, you can view the Caligas Facebook Page

Their contact phone numbers by region across Baja California are listed as follows;

La Paz	Cabo San Lucas	San José del Cabo
(612) 122 9222	(624) 143 3800	(624) 142 0122

Order Process

Here in Cabo our gas is supplied from Caligas and all our orders are conducted via WhatsApp in Spanish. Walking through the steps;

1. Take a reading of your gas meter (so ideally locate your gas meter when you first move in – ours is on the roof as noted in the photos below). Frequency is generally every two months but you could start with monthly if you wish to better establish what your usage is. Naturally this will depend on how many appliances in your home operate with gas – for us it is very little.
2. If levels are below half we go to WhatsApp and message Caligas (+52 624 157 2929 for Cabo) the following request;
   • SPANISH: Hola … necesitamos gas en (insert your address) El Tazel por favor. Nosotros estaremos pagando en efectivo en efectio, el número de teléfono de la casa es (+__) (__________)
   • ENGLISH: Hello… we need gas on (insert your address) El Tazel please. We will be paying in cash the telephone number of the house is (+__) (__________)
3. They will reply (pretty quickly) with an approximate day/time that they will be at your place. In our experience this is usually within 1-3 days
4. Once they arrive at your place, a large hose is connected to your gas storage (in our case, on the roof)
5. We pay them in pesos once tank has been filled

Whilst it may seem clunky, it is actually a relatively simple and reliable process.

Payment Methods

Other than paying in cash, Caligas accept the following forms of payment;

1. Debit card: Visa and MasterCard. Payment is made through the App once the product is received.
2. Credit card: Visa and MasterCard. Payment is made through the App once the product is received.
3. Kilo gas vouchers: (prepaid vouchers issued by the company) must be exchanged with the driver at the time of receiving the product.

You can download the Caligas Cilindros App by clicking on the relevant links below but you do need to ensure your settings are set to Country: Mexico

Android App Link	iPhone App Link
Caligas Cilindros for Android	Caligas Cilindros for iPhone

Typical Examples of Cost

Gas is cheap in Cabo and we typically order every two months with our bill averaging at about $1,700 pesos – this equates to around $81usd/ $110aud.

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WATER

Coming from Australia, we take continual supply of fresh, drinkable running water for granted. We found Cabo to be somewhat challenged in being able to offer it’s citizens the same, yet basic luxury . Not only are irrigation systems less sophisticated, in a climate as warm as Cabo all year-round, water supply is in high demand in an area that has experienced rapid population growth since 2019 (further spurred by the pandemic of 2020/21) and had continual growth occurring over the last twenty years.

Currently, water is supplied to the Los Cabos region from the running water of the nearby mountains of Sierra de La Laguna north of Cabo and pumped through by aquifers or desalination plants. Whilst most resorts will have their own desal plants (I have read up to 90% as well as about 80% of resorts have their own sewerage treatment systems to water their gardens), most households rely on the main aqueduct in San Jose which pipes water throughout the whole Los Cabos area.

Pedregal, a community north-side of Cabo marina and housing some of the most exclusive and expensive homes in all of Los Cabos, actually built it’s own desalinization plant when, in the early 2000’s, was reduced to only receiving water 2-3 days per week and needed a long-term solution outside of just paying to truck additional water in.

In 2020, the newly elected Mayor Oscar Leggs began a campaign to provide local people with more water. He has since tapped into three wells as well as re-claimed a well that had been run by a private water company. Mayor Professor Leggs (as he is more commonly referred) has also negotiated with some of the hotels to donate their excess desalinated water to be distributed among the general populace (more specifically, supplied to where it is needed most, the local barrios, free of charge).

In May 2021, ” a consortium comprising La Peninsular Compañía Constructora and Acciona Agua won the bid to build Cabo San Lucas’ second desalination plant and the contract to improve the city’s water distribution system. The desal plant operation will be manned by Oomsapas (now called Portable Agua Los Cabos), the Los Cabos water supply government-run agency.” ¹ Building is expected to be completed in 2024.

Water Distribution in Los Cabos

So what does this all mean currently?

Depending of where you live, most gated communities are supplied town water to a large cistern and distributed amongst it’s residents. Generally most homes will capture at least 2,500 liters but some homes have installed either second tanks or larger tanks from 5,000, 10,000 or even 15,000 liters (either under or above ground on located on the roof).

Municipal water is distributed by Potable Agua Los Cabos – your cistern fills until your float valve reaches the top and cuts of further supply. A water pump then draws the water from your tank to distribute around the home. As the water pump operates on electricity, if their is a cut in power supply, then water supply too is cut off to your home.

You are charged according to your usage, generally with a small receipt-looking bill stuck to your front door by a security guard (as in our case).

Whilst the average re-fill to your community is approximately every 2-weeks – it is best to reference Potable Agua Los Cabos on their Facebook page as they will post which communities/regions will be receiving supply for that week. They also provide regular updates with regards to any issues that may impact water supply such as storms, contamination etc. and often in English which is a bonus.

The posting looks something like this;

Purchasing Water when you run out – Supplier Info

If you unfortunately find yourself with no water unexpectedly (which is becoming an increasing problem due to the rapid urban growth), you have several options with regards to buying water by the truckload to directly fill into your tank as an interim till your area has the scheduled delivery of town water.

Depending on who you use will determine a minimum liter purchase – we have a 5,000 liter tank and the water refill capability from our community tank had accidentally been closed off when we had a new pump installed (it had been glued shut!). It was a Sunday and we were desperate so contacted a private supplier who would only sell us a minimum 10,000 liters – we had a blow up kiddie’s pool we quickly assembled to capture some of the excess and donated the rest to a nearby neighbor’s tank.

The cost also will vary by supplier.

Chuy

We were referred a local guy Chuy (pronounced Chew-y) who usually arrives at our place in El Tezal within the hour of making a call.

He will deliver 5,000 liters for $800 pesos (approx. $40usd) – this price has been held at $800 pesos so far as of April 2023 but the cost is based on fixed rate irrespective of the quantity you take so if you want to top up with still half a tank of water, then you are just paying a higher rate per liter.

Not sure if Chuy has recently expanded his team or even if it’s his business but lately when I place an order with Chuy – a different guy shows up – so clearly there is a team of trucks distributing throughout the region.

Chuy can be contacted via WhatsApp on: +52 1 624 178 4236 – usually I make a request for delivery as early in the day as possible to ensure I get same-day delivery – orders can pile up if there has been a delay in the town delivery to your particular community and communities built with replicate floor plans tend to run out around the same time.

Available Trading Hours: Chuy doesn’t appear to have an on-line presence outlining his trading hours so just message him and he’ll generally respond within the hour

Pipas Cabo

A more established business with a fleet of trucks supplying the Los Cabos region – from individual households to commercial premises to entire sub-divisions.

You can seek out the Pipas Cabo website by clicking on their name or contact them via

WhatsApp on: +52 624 264 6916 or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pipascabo

Their available trading hours are:

MONDAY TO FRIDAY: 7:00 AM – 6: 00PM | SATURDAY: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Water Costs

As mentioned, we have a 5,000 liter tank and really just the two of us plus a dog so we don’t have a huge need. We shower once a day but don’t have a dishwasher so probably use more water doing dishes. Washing machine generally does only 2-3 medium loads a week.

Factoring in all this, our bills, which are paid monthly (we pay at Oxo) over a 12-month cycle have been as follows (10-months illustrated below);

Bill Period	Pesos (MX)	*USD (approx)	*AUD (approx)
April 2021 – May 2021	$280	$14.08	$20.57
May 2021 – June 2021	$166	$8.35	$12.20
June 2021 – July 2021	$166	$8.35	$12.20
July 2021- Aug 2021	$204	$10.20	$14.90
Aug 2021 – Sept 2021	$203	$10.21	$14.91
Oct 2021 – Nov 2021	$187	$9.40	$13.75
Dec 2021 – Jan 2022	$412	$20.70	$30.27
Jan 2022 – Feb 2022	$203	$10.21	$14.91
Feb 2022 – March 2022	$334	$16.79	$24.54
July 2022 – Aug 2022	$368	$18.50	$27.00

As you can see from above, water costs are relatively low but still a precious commodity here in Cabo, so be careful not to be too wasteful.

Can I Drink the Water in Cabo?

Whilst the water supplied to Cabo has been through a purification process, there are conflicting thoughts about whether or not you can drink it.

My recommendation would be to drink bottled water but ok to brush your teeth with. Although the tap water is meant to be pure enough to drink, other factors can contribute to contamination (i.e. the pipes or trucks used in distribution may contain bacteria) and I have read reports that even the locals won’t drink the tap water.

Many of the resorts here run their own water filtration system so some people suggest the water can be considered safer to drink. If this is true, then not sure why many resorts provide bottled water to your room on a daily basis (I have stayed at a number of resorts here in Cabo and can’t remember not ever getting bottled water). I would suggest asking the resort on check-in whether they filter their own water just to be sure.

Suggest you also are cautious about whether tap or bottled water has been used to produce any ice cubes you have in your drinks. Again, most resorts would use purified water but less control in the stand-alone restaurants and bars so good idea to ask when placing your order. You’ll find most places will freeze purified water (or use ice bought from Oxo, Costco, Pemax etc.) but it never hurts to be overly cautious – the outcome can be very unpleasant if you don’t (yes – speaking from experience here – think gastro on steroids)

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¹ – ref https://gringogazette.com/wp/2021/05/los-cabos-new-desal-plant-bid-awarded/

INTERNET/LANDLINE/STREAMING PROVIDERS

When we arrived in Cabo, we were remarkably surprised at how well the internet worked here – much faster speeds than what we paid for in Australia. Given my husband was going to be running his business remotely from Cabo, it was pertinent that our internet/WiFi was both reliable and fast.

Prior to moving into our own home, we rented for two years and the internet was already connected so we didn’t really have a say on the provider – not to say that there were better options, we just didn’t need to explore them at the time.

We use our US cell phones here for roaming – we haven’t really found the need to get a Mexican mobile phone number as most people communicate by WhatsApp anyway rather than dialing direct and our mobile plan gives us free calls and unlimited downloads at no extra charge whilst in Mexico.

The only time we have felt the need for a landline is when ordering from some of the Mexican retail stores online – their system requires you to enter a +52 # in order to complete the sale process. (i.e. Coppel.com is one I can think of)

Telmex

Cabo San Lucas (downtown):

Address: Avenida Miguel Hidalgo, Ildefonso Green, 23450 Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico | Phone : +52 8001 232 222

San Jose:

Address: Hidalgo y Juárez s/n, Centro, 23400 San José del Cabo, B.C.S., Mexico| Phone : +52 800 123 2222

Telmex was our initial provider and is Mexico’s largest telecom provider – as the contract was not in our name we weren’t entirely sure of what package our landlord was on and we only ever saw one bill in the entire 2 years we were there (I think the landlord just decided to pay the monthly bills as she received them as it was only around $15usd p/month)

If you are renting and internet/phone is already connected when you move in but you pay the monthly bill, then just pay the bill at any OXO store rather than having to sign up for your own account (unless you are getting internet set up in your name.)

Most Internet providers offer pretty reasonable package deals that bundle telephone/WiFi and TV streaming into one monthly fee (not a bad idea if you don’t currently subscribe to any) and Telmex appears to be the most popular (if not really the only) choice in Cabo. It offers super fast WiFi 6 technology with the initial cost of a modem costing from $1,400 to $12,000 pesos depending on your needs. You do need to check first that your area is set up with fiber optics.

We set up an account with Telmex when we moved into our own place in early 2023 and it offers some reasonable packages with some of the more popular streaming services (Netflix, Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, Star+, Claro+ and TVPro). One thing to note though is that you will get a mix of English and Spanish shows unless you set up a VPN to access the US streaming versions.

Telmex have an office in downtown Cabo, so my husband presented with some ID and proof of address, selected our preferred package and we were all connected later that afternoon.

Telmex currently offer the following packages should you seek a connection to a landline as well as WiFi and streaming;

Or if you just want internet with possibly a streaming service but no landline;

Starlink

Starlink promotes itself as “High-speed, low-latency broadband internet in remote and rural locations across the globe.” and I have seen some strong positive feedback from the local expat groups when people seek recommendations for internet providers.

About Starlink: “Starlink is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more.”¹

Once you purchase your relevant package, Starlink provides you with a self-install kit and set up is easy as seen through their Set-up YouTube Video Instruction

The self-install kit includes; Starlink, WiFi router, cables and base and once you have a clear view of the sky, your Starlink can self-orientate. Made from robust materials, your satellite is built to withstand extreme weather conditions so in a hurricane-prone region like Baja California Sur, it provides a certain peace of mind.

An additional add-on feature is that your Starlink can be portable so you can take your connectivity with you which is great for those who only live in Cabo part-time.

*Start-up Cost: You purchase Starlink on-line through their website with a one-time cost of $6,225 for the hardware + $470 pesos for shipping and handling which takes approx. 1-2 weeks (they currently also have a 30-day trial period

*Monthly rates: Regional Cabo – $1,100 Pesos p/month and they note that this regions delivers download speeds of around 100 Mbps.

Coverage: As you can see by the map below, there is excellent coverage of almost 99% of Baja California with the exception of Todos Santos which is currently on a wait list

Reference ^1. https://www.starlink.com/

*Prices accurate as of April, 2023 – please refer to Starlink website for most up-to-date pricing

TV STREAMING SERVICES – How to watch shows from another country

One of the most common questions I see on the Expat Facebook Groups is how to watch the US (or Canadian) shows on the popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, AppleTV etc – there are a number of ways you can achieve this.

If your technically savvy (which my husband is) then you can simply purchase a VPN (Virtual Private Network) router for your WiFi so that your internet appears to be located in a country other than Mexico. Then you set your smart TV to the WiFi on the VPN router so that when you log into your streaming apps, they simply think you are logging in from the country that your VPN router is set to (so effectively bypassing any geoblocks that may be set up by the streaming provider).

VPN Router

Most Smart TVs come with a range of streaming apps, but due to regional restrictions, you might not be able to use them all or you are unable to access the apps you wish to install from your local country’s app store.

Best VPNs for use with Smart TV

Consumer review and comparison site www.comparitech.com recently published an article (March 2023) on the top VPN’s to use when connecting to a Smart TV;

1. NordVPN: The best VPN for Smart TV. More than 5,000 servers. Fast for streaming lag-free. Amazon Fire TV and Android TV apps. No-logs policy and 24/7 support.
2. Surfshark: Best value VPN. Works with many popular streaming services. High-speed connections and over 3,000 servers in 65 countries. Secure all of your devices.
3. ExpressVPN: Servers in 94 countries including the US. No bandwidth throttling and secures data with encryption. Quality customer support 24 hours a day.
4. CyberGhost: Over 8,000 servers in 90+ countries. Very fast server speeds. Allows up to seven simultaneous connections. Includes a strict no-logs policy.
5. IPVanish: Manually configurable with routers. Uses the WireGuard protocol for seamless streaming of 4K content. Unlimited simultaneous connections.
6. PrivateVPN: Desktop and mobile apps and compatible with select routers. Fast and works with Netflix and Prime Video.
7. Atlas VPN: Available on Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. Powerful unblocking of streaming platforms. Good speeds and no throttling. MultiHop servers.

Once you have selected your VPN, below outlines simple set-up instructions;

1. Search for your VPN in the Google Play Store and install its app.
2. Log in and connect to a server in the required country to access the regional shows you wish to access (i.e US for Netflix US Shows or UK for BBC shows etc
3. Finally, open the region-locked app you’d like to use and play a video. It should begin almost instantly, but if not, we’d recommend clearing the app’s stored data or trying a different server.^1.

We went with a PrivateVPN router which we purchased through Amazon.com.mx called a Netgear Nighthawk (model R6700v3) which will set you back about $100usd (or $75usd if you buy from Amazon US).

The key features of The Netgear Nighthawk are; Wireless speed up to 1750Mbps, coverage up to 1500 square feet for up to 25 devices, 4 x 1 gigabyte Ethernet port, and 1 USB 3.0 port, with Armor security. Set-up instructions are pretty simple and can be viewed on the following link: https://youtu.be/-Mq9PtQM9Ow – and are also outlined as follows;

1. Download the Nighthawk app.
2. Attach the provided antennas (if any) and connect your modem to the Internet port on your router.
3. Power on your router.
4. Wait for the WiFi LED to light.
5. Look on the router label for your router’s WiFi network name (SSID) and network key (password).
   The label is on the back or bottom of your router.
6. On your iOS or Android mobile device, tap Settings > Wi-Fi.
7. Connect your mobile device to the network that is listed on your router’s label and enter the password.
8. Launch the NETGEAR Nighthawk app on your mobile device.
9. Follow the instructions in the Nighthawk app to install your router and connect to the Internet.

^{1.How to Set up a VPN for Smart TV in 4 Easy Steps (comparitech.com)}