The CFE of the Future
Jaime Hernández, Director General of CFE, outlined the commission’s coming targets at the Mexico Energy Forum 2018 in Mexico City on Wednesday, telling the Hotel Sheraton Maria Isabel audience that CFE has a three-prong strategy going forward: improve operational performance, consolidate finances and invest in the development and implementation of new technologies. “We need to continue improving our operational performance and the quality of CFE’s services,” he said.
To reach the company’s goal of achieving sustainable equilibrium by 2021, the company will continue its policy of financial discipline. Hernández placed importance on CFE’s renegotiation of the collective bargaining contract to deal with the working liabilities that the company’s pension package entails.
Among the company’s milestones in its 80th year, Hernández lists the development of 25 new gas ducts, the construction or modernization of 31 generation units, the development of 65 new clean generation units and carrying out 448 transmission projects and 13,415 distribution projects. “Between 2012 and 2017, CFE added 7.3 GW to the country’s 55GW,” said Hernández.
On the generation of clean energy, Hernández pointed out that 47 solar parks and 18 wind farms have been built. “CFE will reach its goal of producing 35 percent of all energy in Mexico through clean energies,” he said. “Between 2012-2017, CFE reduced its CO2emissions by 36 percent.” Looking ahead, the company expects to reduce its emissions footprint from electric generation by 90 percent by 2021.
Among the effects that the Energy Reform has had on CFE’s performance, Hernández points to the company’s access to natural gas and the transformation of CENACE into a decentralized public organism. “Gas entails up to 80 percent of the costs of electricity generation in conventional plants,” he said. “And having CENACE as an independent organization offers a level playing field for all players in the electricity market.”
Hernández also laid out some of the plans to increase the country’s installed capacity between 2018 and 2021. “In this period, 11 generation units will become operational and add an installed capacity of 6.75GW to the country’s capacity.”
Meeting the country’s energy needs remains CFE’s raison d’etre. “We work toward integrating new technologies to the benefit of the population,” said Hernández. He underlined that CFE is following the advancements made in energy storage to be able to reach the regions that it currently cannot.
Hernández concluded his presentation by stating that there is space for CFE to continue growing and strengthening and for the participation of private companies to take part in the energy sector. “Being able to access new versatile financing products is useful to support CFE’s long-term plans,” he said.