Despite tensions, Iberdrola prepares its return to the Mexican electricity system

After the approval of new rules for the use of energy storage batteries for the National Electric System (SEN) – a necessary measure to avoid interruptions in supply and improve the integration of renewable energies – the energy firm Iberdrola has seen a new business opportunity in order to enter the Mexican market, data from the Spanish capital company reveal.

On September 30, 2021, the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) approved in an extraordinary session agreement A/113/2024, which issues administrative provisions to integrate electricity storage systems for the SEN.

Last February, Iberdrola closed the sale of 13 electric power plants to Mexico, which until last year represented 55 percent of its business in the country. With that, the litigation with the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador ended, who on multiple occasions described the Spanish firm’s contracts to sell energy to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) as leonine. (https://shorturl.at/ckrsE)

This regulation involves the use of batteries to store energy, an activity that, according to the document, does not imply generation, but is equivalent to the same because they withdraw or inject electricity, which requires new permits to be granted, but also to be entitled to the rights and obligations established by the Electrical Industry Law.

The importance of storage systems is that they allow the energy generated during periods of high production to be conserved for use when demand is greater or if renewable sources do not have ideal conditions for generation, which allows stability in the electricity supply and Fewer fossil sources are used in the energy transition, but they also solve the interruption in supply.

Due to this regulation, Iberdrola considers that it represents a business opportunity in the country, after at the beginning of the year it concluded the sale of 13 electricity generating plants for 6.2 billion dollars to the Mexico Infrastructure Partners trust (https://shorturl.at/ckrsE).

The regulation provides mechanisms for the remuneration of batteries that are installed and that are required by the National Energy Control Center (Cenace).indicated Iberdrola in its report corresponding to the third quarter of 2024.

The firm, which announced in the middle of this year that it plans to invest 2.9 billion dollars for the construction of 17 renewable energy plants by 2030 (https://bitly.cx/TcpoA), waits for Cenace to issue the secondary standard so that the regulation can be put into practice.