Energy Self-Sufficiency Through Strengthened CFE and PEMEX
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Energy Self-Sufficiency Through Strengthened CFE and PEMEX

Photo by:   Ashes Sitoula on Unsplash
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Cas Biekmann By Cas Biekmann | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Tue, 06/16/2020 - 18:17

SENER published a preliminary draft of the 2020-2024 Energy Sector Program on the website of the National Commission for Regulatory Improvement (CONAMER). The document outlines the objectives of the Ministry in the energy sector: SENER intends to align the government’s regulatory bodies, reduce the output of private renewable energy and strengthen state-owned PEMEX and CFE, reported El Financiero.

SENER’s 100-page document states it intends to prioritize its national energy resources by strengthening PEMEX and CFE. For this to happen, SENER says it needs the help of the regulatory bodies such as CRE and CNH. “To address the problem of PEMEX, it is necessary to recover the state's leadership through SENER, including the participation of the coordinated regulatory bodies in energy matters, in line with the national energy sector’s rescue policy,” the document reads. One of the main statements in the document asserts that “the market will not replace the state.”

Because PEMEX and CFE both need to be strengthened, the document suggests a stronger collaboration between both state production companies. This would indeed mean that more fuel oil is to be used for electricity generation. To offset negative effects, SENER aims to use technologies that reduce harmful emissions. The document does state that clean energy sources are crucial, although “the use of national resources is prioritized.”

The document reports that the 2014 Energy Reform has unfairly weakened CFE, as reported in Expansión. “The integration of intermittent renewable energy plants, included in three long-term energy auctions, represents a challenge for CFE's finances. This is due to the preferential dispatch criteria for renewable plants and the costs that CFE must cover for various factors, which forces it to decrease its additional installed capacity,” the document explains. The new policy, therefore, aims to foster equal conditions in which CFE can compete.

While the document was published by CONAMER, SENER asked that it be exempt from the Regulatory Impact Statement; this strongly implies that the document has not taken the opinions of the energy sector into account and is not planning to do so, El Financiero writes. The private sector has already reacted in outrage, writes El Universal. US business leaders have written a letter to Washington imploring the US government to intervene through diplomatic channels.

Photo by:   Ashes Sitoula on Unsplash

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