CFE: priority to national private investment

The Federal Electricity Commission is clear about the leading role the state-owned company plays in boosting the national economy.

For economic development to be achieved, energy is needed, emphasizes Emilia Calleja, director of the state-owned company.

She is responsible for implementing the new electricity policy.

Among other objectives, it must chart a new path in which private investments will have to be made in partnership with the government, via mixed contracts.

This new system abandons the openness and competition with the private sector and moves toward a model of majority government ownership.

The first female director of the state-owned electricity company speaks clearly and straightforwardly. She confidently rules out the possibility that the country's electricity supply could be a bottleneck for companies looking to invest in Mexico.

He acknowledges that the electricity generation strategy, which allocates 54% to the CFE and 46% to the private sector, is "practically starting from scratch." These are the first mixed investment contracts between the government and the private sector.

That is to say, the Mexican government is working on developing the contract models it will put on the table, and these will have to be successful, because it involves a different strategy.

It is about establishing clear rules to ensure and increase private investment.

He notes that there is interest from the private sector and that several companies have been approached and have requested interviews, alleging they are interested in investing.

Priority will be given to national private investments over international ones, he emphasized.

Calleja is not only the first woman to reach the top of the CFE. She is also one of the few officials with more than two decades of experience within the electric company.

His language is very different from that of a politician. His phrasing is pragmatic and direct.

He acknowledges that the definition of the contract model for private sector participation must be firmly established.

The CFE is working as fast as possible to have the contracts ready by October.

Before the horizon of next September, when Claudia Sheinbaum delivers her First Presidential Address.

Private initiative will be encouraged to focus, above all, on renewable energy, he added.

The CFE director is discreet and reserved. She prefers to avoid spilling the beans.

Last February, the Mexican government presented the Plan to Strengthen and Expand the National Electric System, which aims to meet demand through 2030.

This six-year term, the plan is to increase installed capacity by 29,074 megawatts, with an investment of $22.377 billion.

Private investors will contribute 6,400 megawatts, the majority of which will come from renewable energy sources.

This plan aims to guarantee the supply of sufficient, sustainable, reliable, and affordable electricity for the development of the country and the well-being of the Mexican people.

What does this plan include? It includes 51 projects, subdivided into seven wind energy projects; nine photovoltaic projects, which will be developed in their first phase: two in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora; one at the Central de Carbón II and one in Río Escondido, Coahuila; one in Altamira, Tamaulipas; and one in La Laguna, Durango; with a total of 1,673 megawatts of photovoltaic addition; five combined-cycle projects, one in Tula, Hidalgo; Altamira, Mazatlán, Salamanca Phase II and one in Jalisco, which is still undergoing feasibility studies; and one internal combustion project, which will generate 240 MW at a plant in Los Cabos.

Additionally, the expansion plan includes 26 projects initiated during the administration of former President López Obrador, including the Puerto Peñasco photovoltaic plant, which began operations on September 11, 2024.

Emilia Calleja says her main concern is ensuring that 99% of the population in Mexico has electricity.

And that's the goal, he warns, that the National Electric System Strengthening and Expansion Plan is focused on.

The new director of CFE is an official with extensive experience and a track record within the electric company itself, and she seems confident that the new strategy will work.

The challenge ahead is enormous. Electricity is an essential input for economic growth. Over time.