Mexico opens the energy market to private individuals, as long as they remain a minority
Mexican lawmakers have proposed a bill that would allow the Mexican energy market to be opened to private operators, but only if the public share of total supply is at least 54%, Reuters reported , citing the draft document . So yes to private participation, but under public control.
This means that Comision Federal de Electricidad, the state-owned electricity company, will be responsible for supplying at least 54% of Mexico's electricity to the grid, continuing the previous administration's preference for greater state control of energy production to ensure affordability.
So the electricity grid and control of Mexico's generating capacity will remain under public control, be it the CFE or PEMEX, the state oil company, while private operators will be secondary to the total.
The bill follows a constitutional amendment that aims to consolidate the Comision Federal de Electricidad, or CFE, as a dominant player in the Mexican electricity market. The constitutional amendment was approved by the Senate with 86 votes in favor and 39 against last October. This met the requirement of a two-thirds majority vote in favor of amending the Constitution.
New Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum continues her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's policy of supporting and favoring state energy majors, including oil company Pemex and CFE.
Main power plants of Mexico
Under the constitutional amendment, the national grid operator Cenace will be obliged to take electricity from power plants owned and operated by the state company CFE first and foremost, regardless of the price and whether it is more expensive than that generated by private producers. Therefore private exchanges will be, at most, exchanges intended for
There was also an earlier bill that aimed to ensure CFE's control of 54% of the Mexican grid by reclassifying the power company – along with oil major Pemex – as a public company, a change from their previous designation as state production companies.
Despite the reclassification, which would give the government a greater say in Pemex's operations, the new government favors the company's collaboration with private companies to develop the country's oil and gas resources. The same attitude seems to be in play when it comes to power companies: Private companies are welcome as long as they know their place, essentially.
Thanks to our Telegram channel you can stay updated on the publication of new Economic Scenarios articles.
The article Mexico opens the energy market to private individuals, as long as they remain a minority comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-messico-apre-il-mercato-energetico-ai-privati-purche-restino-minoritari/ on Wed, 29 Jan 2025 15:43:26 +0000.