Mexico increases grid fee for eco-friendly projects wrapped up prior to energy reforms

• The brand-new action mainly applies to wind power as well as other renewable resource sources, as the majority of the country's solar ability was released after 2014, when the energy reforms were applied.

The Mexican government revealed grid-fee increases recently for renewable resource plants installed under the supposed Contratos Legados governing framework, which was in force before the energy reforms executed in 2013.

The Mexican regulatory authority approved the brand-new tariffs at the end of May, yet the government still needed to validate the exact quantities. The fee for setups connected to the low-voltage grid is MXN0.89284 ($0.04)/ kWh, while the toll for plants linked to the medium-voltage network is MXN0.25865, up about 400%. For plants that are linked to the high-voltage grid, the fee has actually been boosted to MXN0.27857.

However, the actions just affect a small amount of PV project proprietors. The majority of the country's mounted PV ability was released after the power reforms were introduced-- including both distributed-generation PV and massive solar projects.

In very early May, Mexico's National Energy Control Center (CENACE) imposed brand-new restrictions on renewable resource implementation, pointing out the demand to safeguard energy safety throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The provisions halted grid links for new solar and also wind power projects up until further notice.

A few weeks later, CENACE determined that 23 operators of massive eco-friendly plants influenced by the actions would be allowed to return to test procedures. According to several Mexican media electrical outlets, the 23 firms had filed "amparo" legal actions against the grid-connection suspension. Amparo lawsuits are a phenomenal procedure in the Mexican justice system, without equivalent in the common law practice. They are normally filed to ask for the defense of a person's civil liberties.

On June 12, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that he doe not strategy to nationalize the energy field. Nonetheless, he reiterated his purpose to examine contracts awarded in renewable resource public auctions that were held after the power reforms entered into force. This plan was first announced by Manuel Bartlett, the basic director of state-owned energy CFE, in March, 2019.