The Mexican president intends to pursue a constitutional reform to strengthen the state-owned power utility CFE. In March 2021, the Congress passed a bill that requires power grid operators to take power generated by CFE in priority over private generators. Hydropower plants operated by CFE would have priority, followed by other CFE-operated power plants, and private solar and wind power plants. In addition, the bill cancels CFE’s obligation to buy electricity through competitive auctions and forces regulators to cancel permits for private generators that build power plants for self-consumption. However, the law was suspended by a court the same month. The dispute is now expected to reach the Mexican Supreme Court.
The country opened its energy sector to private and foreign investors in 2013, ending CFE’s monopoly. This new law may have adverse impacts on emissions by promoting CFE's thermal power plants against private wind and solar power plants and threaten private investments in the country.