CFE Accuses Acciona Energy for Faulty Interconnection

Spanish firm Acciona Energy has been found to be partly responsible for last year´s December massive electricity blackout in Mexico, according to a report emitted by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). . The report claims specifically that ultimately the failure was a result of a fire that started from an “irregular interconnection” at San Carlos Solar Park where Acciona Energy is located. Thereby contradicting an earlier report from this year that said the system failure occurred when there was high wind and solar energy generation and “very low demand”.

This news comes on the heels of Acciona’s Initial Public Offering market debut last week, where the company rose more than seven percent their asking price. Their selling strategy, as explained in detail previously by Mexico Business News (MBN), allowed the company to stay under its family-controlled parent group, reach its desired valuation during its IPO and attract potential investors to fuel expansion efforts. In addition, Acciona reported a revenue increase of five percent compared to last year’s performance. Collectively, they have proved themselves to be valuable and an attractive investment opportunity.

 It is unlikely that CFEs accusation for its supposed role in last year’s December blackout, as they claim, will affect the company’s ability to secure investors in Mexico, and much less abroad, considering CFE had not included them in their original findings in January and that all interconnection infrastructure must be verified by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). In addition, Mexico’s energy transmission and distribution has been known to be unreliable. For instance, the most notable example being, Texas’ ERCOT; which has increased domestic congestion, thereby increasing energy prices for consumers. Considering this recent incident, foreign energy investors may slow capital flow until adequate funds are appropriated by the state and or federal government towards updating the country’s system. 

Unsurprisingly, the company has not announced any project proposals to further its expansion efforts in Mexico, but this may, if only temporary, dissuade the company from starting any development projects considering the much-needed state and federal investment in new transmission lines and supporting infrastructure. However, in their favor, the Lopez Obrador’s administration, has taken a very outspoken stance in favor of domestic industries possibly emboldening CFE to skirt past needed invest requirements, which will have a reverberation of consequences for the industry, its future and consumers.