Mexico power watch: Enlight fund, Canadian complaints

Distributed generation solutions provider Enlight has established a new US$50mn fund to finance deployment of solar generation and battery storage assets for the use of industrial consumers.

Through two potential payments schemes, the fund will invest in the construction and deployment of power generation infrastructure that clients will then pay for through a long-term supply contract, skipping the need to finance the investment themselves, according to local press reports. After their contract is fulfilled, they will gain ownership of the asset.

This private-to-private PPA system is becoming more common across the region, as it enables smaller firms used to paying a supply bill directly to the power distributor to transition towards self-supply without having to secure a large one-time investment.

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Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met Canadian energy-related firms concerned with the country's policy decisions earlier this week.

During a press conference, the president said the meeting had been held Wednesday and that he had resolved the issues presented by the firms.

"We received four Canadian companies. And we solved their four issues, without any obstacle, which had to do with matters within the energy sector," the president said.

The meeting follows a recent trend in Mexico's energy sector where companies that sit down with government authorities and strike deals behind closed doors usually receive preferential treatment. This tactic has become common among companies looking to build large-scale infrastructure energy projects.

Mexico is in the midst of consultations under the USMCA treaty with the United States and Canada sparked by complaints by firms from the two countries of unfair treatment by energy authorities, who have been accused of favoring public utility CFE and oil and gas giant Pemex.

The complaints could lead to an arbitration panel if no amicable solution is found.