Mexico’s Energy Regulatory Commission (Comisión Reguladora de Energía or CRE) on Sept. 10, 2024, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación or DOF), the "Agreement No. A/108/2024 by which the Energy Regulatory Commission issues the general administrative provisions (hereinafter referred to as DACGs to represent disposiciones administrativas de carácter general) on electromobility for the integration of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to the National Electrical System (Sistema Eléctrico Nacional or SEN) as part of an intelligent electrical network." These provisions mostly retain the content of the preliminary project dated Feb. 14, 2024, which were featured in Holland & Knight’s alert: "CRE Publishes in CONAMER a Preliminary Project on Electromobility," Feb. 16, 2024.
In this regard, the most relevant changes in the content of the DACGs are mentioned below:
- Periodic review: Periodic reviews are established to the DACGs and their appendices, and therefore, they must be reviewed after three years from their publication in the DOF or when the CRE determines the need to update said DACGs as a result of the evolution of the Mexican market and the conditions of the SEN.
- Load Center Infrastructure: Load centers that are included in a legacy interconnection contract and intend to install charging infrastructure must apply for the installation independently.
- Distributed Generation: Electric charging stations, electric terminals and free charging stations may install clean distributed generation power plants as a source of energy for charging electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), in addition to the electricity supply service. These facilities must comply with the Interconnection Manual for Generation Plants with a capacity of less than 0.5 megawatts and with the applicable provisions.
- Interoperability: The National Energy Control Center (Centro Nacional de Control de Energía or CENACE) or the distributor, may request to enable the advanced interoperability functions of the smart chargers for electric vehicles with the SEN, when required in the connection studies or due to reliability issues of the SEN. The CRE will issue specific regulations on controllable demand, allowing end users to offer to reduce their demand for electric energy.
- Collaboration with the COFECE: In order to establish the mechanisms that allow preserving the conditions of free competition, the CRE may, in coordination with the Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission (Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica or COFECE), supervise the evolution of the Mexican market. To this end, the CRE may share with the COFECE the reports on the characteristics of the EVs and PHEVs charging infrastructure and the reports on the update of electric energy prices at electric charging stations.
- Standardization and Normalization: The CRE will start the process of standardization and normalization in the field of smart electric grids, in particular for the identification of the necessary infrastructure and standards of the required electrical installations, from the commencement of the DACGs and within a period not exceeding 12 months.
Finally, it should be noted that the commencement of the DACGs will be applicable to those requests for the electricity supply service and connection of load centers. These regulations could be modified in the near future and transferred to the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Economy, in the event that the independent regulatory agencies mentioned disappear and become part of said ministries.
