Mexico's Constitutional Amendment for State Electricity Company

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico's Senate voted late on Wednesday to amend the constitution, granting dispatch preferences to the state electricity company, CFE, solidifying its status over foreign and private competitors.

The initiative passed in the upper chamber with 86 votes to 39, achieving the necessary two-thirds support for constitutional change.

The reform mandates the national grid operator, Cenace, to prioritize power generated from CFE plants, even if more expensive than that from private suppliers.

This proposal had already passed the lower house last week, backed by President Claudia Sheinbaum's leftist ruling Morena party.

The overhaul will be enforced once it secures approval from a majority of state legislatures and is published in the official government gazette.

Following in the footsteps of former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Sheinbaum aims to increase control of Mexico's energy market for Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE). Lopez Obrador faced legal hurdles in passing a similar change during his administration.