The Mexican power grid regulator Cenace (Centro Nacional de Control de Energía) has cancelled the country's fourth renewable energy auction (Cuarta Subasta de Largo Plazo) at the request of Mexico’s Department of Energy (SENER) due to the legal issues along with technical, economic and energy planning considerations.
Originally scheduled for November 2018, the auction was previously suspended in December 2018 as the two governmental bodies, i.e. Cenace and SENER, were reviewing its scope and targets. Besides, political changes led to the suspension of the fourth round due to internal restructuring within the two bodies. Before the suspension, the auction attracted fewer interested parties than previous ones. At the end of November 2018, only 26 companies were qualified to participate, compared with 49 for the third auction held in 2017.
The third auction was concluded in November 2017 and 15 projects were selected at an average price of US$20.57/MWh. Prices have been dropping by 50% between the first and the third energy auction, plummeting from US$41.8/MWh to US$20.57/MWh.