LatinNews Daily - 22 June 2023

*Mexico’s leading private sector lobby, Coparmex, has raised concerns over blackouts experienced in various areas of the country due to high energy demand, which has surged due to the increased use of air conditioning units amid a heatwave that has affected much of Mexico since the beginning of June. Coparmex called on the state-run electricity firm Comisión Federal de Electridad (CFE) to invest together with the private sector in the national electricity system (SEN) to ensure the adequate generation of energy and avoid supply failures. Coparmex noted that Mexico’s national grid operator (Cenace) had announced that the grid entered a state of emergency on 20 June, reaching an operating reserve margin of under 6%. It called on both Cenace and the energy regulator (CRE) to “allow the integration of new power plants from both the public and private sectors to the SEN” to ensure demand is met. According to Coparmex, the situation is “worrying” given that it entails economic losses in the manufacturing, automotive and service sectors, as well as impacting households and presenting health risks. According to Cenace data, daily demand reached a high of over 52,000 megawatts per hour on 21 June. Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has dismissed energy concerns, stating that the CFE has sufficient capacity to cater to maximum demand over summer.