Mexico:

Mexican President Peña Promulgates Regulations to the Secondary Laws of the Energy Reform (Lexology)

(Courtesy CIA.gov)

Pursuant to the transitory articles of the Secondary Laws to Mexico's Energy Reform, enacted on August 11, 2014, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has announced the issuance of a series of clarifying Regulations, with an effective date of October 31, 2014 (the "Regulations").

The Regulations provide a clear framework for the authority that has been granted to different Mexican governmental agencies and a preview of the contracting process that will be unfolding over the next several years. Significant aspects of the regulations with regards to renewable energy and geothermal in particular:

Regulation of the Electricity Law (Reglamento de la Ley de la Industria Electrica) restructures the industry, and it enables and encourages private parties to participate in the market, sets the ground rules for a wholesale electric market, and addresses permitting for power generation projects. As part of a separate package, the Mexican government also issued the final criteria for regulating the Clean Energy Certificates described in the Electricity Law.

Regulation of the CFE Law (Reglamento de la Ley de la Comisión Federal de Electricidad) establishes internal governance rules for the Mexican Federal Energy Commission ("CFE"), together with CFE contracting procedures. This Regulation includes specific information on the eventual transition from CFE's current vertically integrated monopoly into a market that features private participation.

Regulation of the Geothermal Energy Law (Reglamento de la Ley de Energia Geotermica) specifies the manner in which private parties may develop geothermal energy resources in Mexico.

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