The CNE issued new provisions allowing CENACE to activate competitive procurement mechanisms when necessary to preserve National Electric System reliability and launched the first call applicable to the Peninsular-Tabasco region.
On April 3, 2026, the National Energy Commission (“CNE”) published in the Federal Official Gazette the General Administrative Provisions establishing the criteria that the National Center for Energy Control must observe when applying competitive mechanisms to acquire Capacity, electricity, Ancillary Services and other Associated Products aimed at ensuring the reliability of the National Electric System (the “DACGs”).
The DACGs regulate the criteria, requirements and procedures that the National Center for Energy Control (“CENACE”) must follow to implement competitive procurement mechanisms for Capacity, electricity, Associated Products and Ancillary Services supplied by Power Plant Units (“UCEs”) and/or Electricity Storage Systems (“SAEEs”) when necessary to preserve the Reliability of the National Electric System (“SEN”).
These mechanisms, contemplated under Article 155 of the Electricity Sector Law and Article 14 of its Regulations, establish an exceptional framework designed to facilitate participation when system conditions require an expedited response. Depending on the circumstances, compliance with certain requirements under the applicable regulatory framework may be waived, including specific guarantees, permits or technical requirements. The DACGs also introduce concepts such as “Temporary Interconnection” and an expedited process to obtain “Temporary Market Participant” status.
The mechanisms may be activated when conditions arise that could compromise SEN Reliability, including deviations in demand and consumption forecasts, weather conditions, scheduled outages, interconnection or connection requests, unavailability, contingencies, generation delays or degradation, limitations on imports or exports, restrictions in transmission or distribution infrastructure, or other circumstances that may affect system operations.
Before activating a competitive mechanism, CENACE must evaluate alternative measures, including the use of generation units with fixed or mobile interconnection points, SAEEs, Controllable Demand Resources, imports or exports with neighboring systems, deferral of unit retirements, relocation or activation of Mobile Power Plant Units and any other resource it considers appropriate.
If these measures prove insufficient, CENACE must notify the CNE and request authorization from the Ministry of Energy (“SENER”) to activate the mechanism. SENER will have up to five business days to approve or deny the request.
Once authorization is obtained, CENACE must publish a public call addressed to electricity sector participants and the general public. Participants will submit technical and economic proposals through Monomic Offers, which must include the relevant technical and operating characteristics of the UCE or SAEE, a fixed, single and non-adjustable monomic price, assignment and dispatch periods and profiles, and the corresponding interconnection points and voltage levels.
Evaluation will take place in two stages. First, CENACE will verify compliance with the technical, operating and interconnection requirements established in the call. The determining factor for award will then be the lowest acquisition cost for the system, without distinction between technologies, provided the applicable technical parameters are satisfied.
Successful participants must enter into a contract with CENACE. During the term of the contract, sellers will be required to maintain the availability of the committed products, preserve the technical and operating characteristics offered, ensure proper interconnection of their facilities and comply with CENACE dispatch instructions.
Participating UCEs or SAEEs will be treated as firm non-dispatchable resources and may only carry out the transactions permitted under the DACGs and the corresponding contract. They may not provide Ancillary Services other than those contracted, enter into Financial Bilateral Transactions, receive Financial Transmission Rights or participate in the Clean Energy Certificate Market.
Settlement of electricity and Associated Products delivered under these mechanisms will follow the standard processes and timelines of the Wholesale Electricity Market (“MEM”). CENACE must ensure that the products supplied are paid at the agreed monomic price. Net costs arising from these mechanisms will be allocated among Suppliers and Qualified Users or, in certain cases, may be charged to parties whose failure to comply with coverage obligations caused the mechanism to be activated.
To secure contractual performance, the seller must provide CENACE, no later than the execution date of the contract, with a guarantee in the form of a bank transfer or stand-by letter of credit in the amount of MXN $100,000 per contracted MW. CENACE may enforce the guarantee in the event of contractual non-compliance. The DACGs do not provide for an equivalent guarantee from CENACE.
In parallel, CENACE issued the First Call for the Peninsular-Tabasco region to maintain dispatch security, reliability, quality and continuity of the National Interconnected System during the months of highest demand in 2026 and 2027.
The call requests Monomic Offers to inject electricity at 115 kV, with the Lerma Electrical Substation in Campeche as the interconnection point, under the following requirements:
• From May 11 through October 31, 2026: minimum capacity of 247 MW and maximum capacity of 260 MW, daily from 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to midnight, Mexico City time.
• From May 1 through October 31, 2027: minimum capacity of 250 MW and maximum capacity of 260 MW, during the same daily periods.
Interested parties were required to submit their Monomic Offer no later than April 17, 2026, together with an additional quotation for the same period in 2028. Offers were required to comply with the DACGs and the First Call and be sent to depmem.pen@cenace.gob.mx.
The DACGs also repeal Agreement A/020/2018 issued by the former Energy Regulatory Commission, which governed reliability auctions under the previous Electricity Industry Law framework.
The new regime significantly broadens the scope of the former mechanism. While the repealed framework focused exclusively on the procurement of Capacity, the DACGs allow the acquisition of electricity, Ancillary Services and other Associated Products as well. They also provide greater regulatory flexibility, broaden the circumstances in which the mechanisms may be activated and allow contract terms to respond to the specific conditions giving rise to the procurement process rather than being limited to a maximum term of one year.
For electricity sector participants, these provisions create a new channel for participating in reliability mechanisms with specific eligibility, availability, guarantee, interconnection and dispatch requirements. Each call should therefore be assessed individually, particularly with respect to its technical, economic and contractual requirements, before defining a participation strategy.
Von Wobeser y Sierra is available to assist with the analysis and implementation of the DACGs, the assessment of specific calls and the structuring of participation in these competitive mechanisms.
