Feb. 5, 2014
CFE Says New Director Played a Critical Role in the Design of Mexico's Energy Laws
MEXICO CITY—A Mexican Energy Ministry official has taken the helm at Comisión Federal de Electricidad, a state-owned electricity utility that soon will face direct competition from private suppliers under a recent overhaul of energy laws.
Enrique Ochoa, who was deputy minister for hydrocarbons, as director will lead the transformation of CFE under a more market-friendly energy regime that will allow private companies to produce and sell power directly to consumers for the first time since 1960.
CFE said in a news release Wednesday that departing director Francisco Rojas resigned for personal reasons. He had been named to the CFE post by President Enrique Peña Nieto at the start of his term in December 2012.
The new director, Mr. Ochoa, played a critical role in the design of the constitutional reforms of the energy sector that Congress passed in December, CFE said.
"I think he knows a lot about electricity, so that is good," said David Shields, editor of industry magazine Energía a Debate. Mr. Shields said he sees the move as a broader effort by the Peña Nieto administration to get reformers in place as the energy overhaul is implemented. "I think they are moving people around, and I think they are reasonably good people," he said.
While the main focus of the energy overhaul was the oil sector, where private companies will be allowed back in for the first time in 75 years, there also will be increased competition in Mexico's electricity sector, where industrial rates are much higher than in the U.S. The government will maintain control of the transmission and distribution system, with a new grid operator separate from CFE determining which generating plants sell their power into the system.
CFE produces about two-thirds of the nation's electricity. Its only competition comes from private energy producers that can sell directly to large industrial companies under complex arrangements. Independent power producers also generate electricity for CFE.
Under the energy-law overhaul, private companies will be able to sell electricity directly to medium-size and large consumers, using CFE's power lines for a fee. The CFE is seen by industry observers as generally inefficient and the electricity sector as ripe for competition.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304450904579365293846850858?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304450904579365293846850858.html
Comments
Post a Comment