Search for:

Effective as of 1 January 2022

In brief

On 31 December 2021, the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) published in the Mexican Official Gazette, resolution number RES/550/2021, through which it issued the General Administrative Provisions containing the criteria for efficiency, quality, reliability, continuity, safety and sustainability of the National Electric System: Network Code (New Network Code).

This New Network Code came into force as of 1 January 2022 and, consequently, repealed Resolution RES/151/2016, of 8 April 2016, that published the prior Network Code.

This New Network Code modifies the technical requirements whose compliance is mandatory for all users of the National Electric System, i.e. the National Energy Control Center, transporters, distributors, power plants, suppliers and, in particular, all load centers connected at medium and high tension, regardless of their consumption levels.


Contents

  1. Recommended Actions

The New Network Code establishes the technical requirements to be met by connected load centers, or intending to connect, to the National Electric System (SEN) at medium or high tension1, in order to guarantee the efficiency, quality, reliability, continuity, safety and sustainability of the SEN.

As of 1 January 2022, obligated load centers (connected at medium and high tension) must initiate the necessary actions to ensure compliance with the technical requirements under the New Network Code. It is important to consider that prior to the publication of the New Network Code, the prior Network Code published under resolution RES/151/2016 on 8 April 2016, (now repealed) was in force, whose technical requirements became mandatory as of 8 April 2019.

The New Network Code distinguishes load centers connected at medium and high tension. For medium tension, it is subdivided into two categories, namely: (i) those which contracted demand is under 1 megawatt; and (ii) those whose contracted demand is equal or greater than 1 megawatt. This distinction entails different regulatory requirements applicable to each category, as well as the possibility of complying with the technical requirements modified under the New Network Code during a transition period, as of its publication date.

Possible penalties:

In accordance with the Electricity Industry Law, failure to comply with the New Network Code may be sanctioned with (i) a penalty of 2 to 10% of the gross income received in the previous year; or (ii) a penalty of fifty thousand to two hundred thousand minimum wages, as the case may be. In this sense, we consider that it is relevant to implement a compliance and/or risk mitigation strategy against these possible penalties (in case of non-compliance or in the process of developing the applicable work plan).

Recommended Actions

Strategy design: next steps

We suggest analyzing and evaluating, from a legal standpoint, possible strategies for each medium or high-tension load center, including those that compiled with the previous Network Code, now repealed. Further, we recommend analyzing and evaluating those load centers that have an ongoing or open administrative procedure before the CRE. 

We have prepared this Client Alert due to the importance of the issue, we suggest (i) to jointly review the technical-legal-regulatory status of the load centers for each user before the CRE, and (ii) to design a legal strategy to mitigate possible penalties, under the New Network Code. 

Our Firm is at your service for any questions or assistance regarding this matter. 


1Load centers connected at low tension are not obliged to comply with the New Network Code.

Author

Benjamín Torres-Barrón leads Baker McKenzie's Energy, Mining & Infrastructure Practice Group in Mexico. Mr. Torres-Barrón is listed as a recommended lawyer by Who’s Who Legal for oil, gas, and project finance in Mexico and was named by Chambers Latin America as one of the country's leading lawyers in the energy and natural resources practice. For several years, he has been acknowledged by the magazine Petróleo & Energía as one of the 100 leaders in Mexico's energy industry. He is a professor of the Master’s Degree in Energy and Sustainability Law at Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon and of the Diploma Degree in Energy at Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez.

Author

Marco Nieto Vázquez is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Energy, Mining & Infrastructure Industry Group in Mexico City. He has over 17 years of international consulting experience in the private sector, the Mexican public sector, and international energy-related organizations. He has also served as an external consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency, leading professional missions for some Central and South American governments on issues of energy modelling and planning and was part of the Energy and Infrastructure team in PwC in Mexico.

Author

Daniel is a lawyer with over 18 years of experience in the corporate, energy, project finance and infrastructure fields. He has advised numerous clients, including multinational public and private corporations, local corporate groups, private equity funds and financial entities, real estate developers and investors, manufacturers and retailers.