Mexico approves bill opening electricity market to private investors
Cerro Prieto, geothermal power plant complex, Baja California, Mexico (source: flickr/ BajaAerial)
Alexander Richter
1 Jan 2014
The new Energy Bill passed in Mexico reforms the electricity energy market, allowing private investment for development of energy projects in Mexico with joint participation by CFE and the private sector in the generation and sale of electricity to the public.
In a legal article published just before Christmas, it is reported that “the Mexican Congress and the majority of the states’ legislatures approved a bill reforming the energy legal framework (the “Energy Bill”) on December 16, 2013.
According to the article, the new Energy Bill constitutes a major change to the electricity sector of Mexico. It will help to expand and modernize the electricity industry and create significant investment opportunities.
The Energy Bill sets forth a number of key changes, among them “the joint participation by CFE and the private sector in the generation and sale of electric power to the public”.
Under the new legislation “private party participation in the generation and commercialization of electric power for the public will be allowed. Currently, the private sector generates electric power only under self-consumption structures, and CFE is the only company engaged in the generation and sale of electric power for the public. With the proposed changes, this restriction is eliminated and private entities will be allowed to generate and distribute electric power to the public.
The Mexican government will maintain the exclusivity of the national electric transmission system, ensuring access for all electric power producers.”
This new legislation now represents a rather fundamental shift in the development and use of Mexico’s abundant natural resources, among them geothermal.
For further details see link below.
Source: Day Jones, Alberto de la Parra , José A. Estandía , Gerald P. Farano (Jerry) and Francisco Pams, “Mexican Congress approves bill to open Mexico’s electricity industry to private investors” via Lexology
