Private Sector Could Boost the National Electricity System
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Private Sector Could Boost the National Electricity System

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Paloma Duran By Paloma Duran | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Wed, 01/06/2021 - 15:04

Due to the electricity generation imbalance suffered by Mexico’s National Electricity System on Dec. 28, the private sector has emphasized its willingness to work with the Ministry of Energy (SENER), CFE, CENACE and other authorities to strengthen the country’s electricity transmission network.

Last week, a major electricity outage left 10.3 million users without electricity for up to two hours. CFE reported that there was an imbalance between load and power generation. As a result, people in 12 states across Mexico were affected, reported MBN.

The Business Coordinating Council (CCE) reports that the electricity system has transmission lines that are currently saturated, which has generated costs of more than MX$1.8 billion (US$90 million). CCE said this is due to the lack of infrastructure, the increase in electricity demand and the lack of generation availability, which affects the reliability of the system.

CCE said the private sector is willing to support CFE to maintain the electricity network operational. However, the council said it is important to increase the investment budget, which is not enough to supply Mexico’s electricity demand and prevent situations like the recent blackout.

According to CCE, annual investments should be greater than MX$87 billion (US$4.3 billion) because it is necessary to install 4,400MW per year to satisfy the national demand for electricity and avoid the saturation of the transmission lines and the distribution network.

Moreover, CCE explained that CFE is investing in expensive and polluting electricity while the government should install better electrical infrastructure that will allow greater electricity reliability and efficiency. The council seeks to dialogue with the energy authorities to invest and improve the use of renewables, besides adapting the grid to intermittent energies.

Pablo Zárate, Managing Director of FTI Consulting, told El Economista that Mexico continues to have a low level of renewable energies. In addition, Zárate said CFE should increase its investments to strengthen the electrical system and prepare Mexico in its transition to renewable energy.

Rodrigo Osorio, General Director at Energy Agency of Puebla, told MBN that the environmental benefit of renewable energy for universal electrification is that these sources have zero emissions of polluting and greenhouse gases (GHG), which allows balancing social with environmental needs.

Moreover, Osorio emphasized the government must take advantage of Mexico’s potential as one of the countries with the largest solar energy potential.

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