HOUSTON, TEXAS (Editors at Energy Analytics Institute, 29.Jan.2025) — Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo signed a set of secondary laws of the constitutional reform in the energy space, reversing modifications made in 2013 by Mexico’s former president Enrique Peña Nieto.
The laws strengthen state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) by assisting them to be more efficient and transparent, Sheinbaum said 29 Jan. 2025 during her mañanera or daily briefing from Mexico City with the media.
The secondary laws will allow Sheinbaum’s government to fulfill her recently revealed $277bn Plan Mexico. This, since in theory there will be a greater availability of energy and clear mechanisms regarding public financing and the participation of the private sector.
RELATED: Claudia Sheinbaum’s Plan Mexico Contemplates a $277bn Investment Portfolio
“It is a, let’s say, a reversal of Peña Nieto’s 2013 reform, whose objective was to privatize [the companies]. In fact, it is a reversal of reforms to the secondary laws of 1992 since CFE and Pemex — guarantors of energy provision of energy for the people of Mexico and national sovereignty — have been recovered. A part of private production is maintained, but public companies are strengthened. It is something very important, transcendent, historical, these laws,” Sheinbaum said.
The package of reforms to be sent to the Mexican Congress includes 6 main laws:
— State Public Company Law, Petróleos Mexicanos,
— State Public Enterprise Act, Federal Electricity Commission,
— Energy Planning and Transition Law,
— Electricity Sector Law,
— Hydrocarbons Sector Law, and
— Law of the National Energy Commission.
There is also harmonization of 5 other laws:
— Hydrocarbon Income Act,
— Mexican Petroleum Fund for Stabilization and Development Law,
— Biofuels Act,
— Geothermal Law, and
— Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration.
Sheinbaum reiterated the CFE and Pemex have been returned to the people of Mexico. This, since Article 28 of Mexico’s Constitution stipulates that the 2 companies are not “monopolies,” since they fulfill a social function of providing strategic public services.
“It is a very profound reform. We are giving viability to the country in the future to the people of Mexico, guaranteeing energy justice and at the same time guaranteeing there is enough energy and affordable costs for Mexico’s development,” Sheinbaum said.
RELATED: CFE Eyes Investments of $23.4bn between 2024-2030
There will be enough electricity and the transmission of that electricity for the development of the country, she said.
Elena González says secondary laws a decisive step
The head of Mexico’s Energy Secretariat (Sener) Luz Elena González Escobar said the package of secondary laws represents a decisive step in the consolidation of Mexico’s sovereignty and to the benefit of the people of Mexico.
“They are the basis that was missing to guarantee a strong, reliable, sustainable energy sector, but focusing on national sovereignty and social justice,” Elena González said during the mañanera.
Elena González said
With regard to the Energy Planning and Transition Law she said that the importance of the hydrocarbon sector in the energy transition is recognized as well as the resumption of the formation of the National Energy Balance, while the National Energy Information System is created within the Sener and the Energy Planning Council as a coordinating body.
“And very important, the concept of “energy justice” is recognized for the first time to reduce inequalities in access and use of energy, guaranteeing resources for the priority care of the most vulnerable population in our country,” she said.
The secondary laws will also assist in reducing the subsidiaries of Pemex and CFE, according to Elena González.
“The reform allows for the reintegration of Pemex and CFE horizontally and vertically, ending the absurd strict legal separation imposed on them by the 2013 reform, that hindered their efficient operation in favor of all Mexicans,” Elena González added.
Additionally, Pemex and CFE are given a special regime for managing their budget, accounting, and debt with specific annual guidelines and goals, she said.
With regard to the Electricity Sector Law, Elena González said the essence of Pemex is recognized as guarantor of hydrocarbon and natural gas production, while CFE is recognized as guarantor of the continuity, accessibility, security, and reliability of the national electricity system.
The prevalence of electricity generation is guaranteed, Elena González said. In this space, CFE maintains 54%of the annual average with the private sector providing the remaining 46%. The allocation allows for sharing risks and benefits among the 2 groups.
For its part, in the case of Pemex, preference is given to the determination of the areas of exploration and extraction, as well as the possibility of deciding whether to associate with private individuals in mixed contracts;
With regard to the Hydrocarbon Sector Law, Elena González said it incorporates a new tax regime. It also aims to rescue the national petrochemical industry, the production of free fertilizers and the traceability of hydrocarbons. To this end, she said delivery of information is mandatory from the entry of fuels to their distribution at gas stations.
With regard to the Law of the National Energy Commission, Elena González said a decentralized body of the Sener is created, which will have technical and operational independence to regulate the granting of permits for the generation and marketing of electricity. It will also establish tariffs for all associated services as well as provide surveillance of the wholesale electricity market. In terms of hydrocarbons, it will be in charge of all the permits of the production chain of natural gas, petroleum, and petrochemicals. Additionally, it establishes tariffs and monitors pricing, she added.
____________________
By Editors at Energy Analytics Institute. © 2025 Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.