New Year, New Energy Regulators, Less Clarity

On Sunday, key figures in Mexico’s energy regulatory bodies stepped down, further clouding the institutions’ goals and procedures, threatening to further extend backlogging into the new year. How this shakeup will affect the agency’s operational effectiveness remains in the air, with important implications to project approvals and energy generation for 2023. 

After six years in the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), on Sunday, Guillermo Pineda Bernal announced that he was stepping down from his post at the end of his tenure. This comes despite being able to extend his tenure for an additional seven more years if he sought to garner support in the Senate and government. He was considered to be friendly to the pro-market reforms of 2013-14 made during the Enrique Peña Nieto administration and was the only CRE commissioner to make public speaking appointments. 

Last year, Pineda said CRE was making it a priority to clear its gas station permit backlog, which seemed to move at a significantly faster pace. Later, in September, the commissioner touted Mexico’s growth in distributed generation and announced that the agency was working on upgrading its regulatory scheme. He now leaves CRE with five commissioners, four out of five being appointed by the current administration. 

Meanwhile, National Hydrocarbons (CNH) Commissioner Alma America Porres Luna also ended her six-year tenure, leaving the institution with three commissioners for the second time when it needs at least four to hold sessions or issue ruling and authorizations. She was also the only commissioner voice remnant of the previous administration and the only one to voice strong opinions against the decisions made by the national oil and gas giant, PEMEX. This comes only four months after head commissioner Rogelio Hernández Cázares resigned in September, citing disagreements with the government over the handling of the Lakach deepwater field. This leaves CNH again looking for another successor and likely generating a large backlog as it did during Hernández’s resignation.