• LIFETIME: One-third of Mexico’s state-owned power capacity depends on obsolete plants that have exceeded their operational life undercutting the government’s argument that CFE -Mexico’s public utilit-is a more reliable than privately-owned renewables plants.
• AGING: According to the government’s own figures, 26 of CFE’s 70 main power plants have surpassed their planned service life. On average, CFE’s 15 thermoelectrical power plants have operated for 45 years outliving their expected operational life of 30 years.
• COMPETITION: “Despite the fact that there are new plants, a large part of CFE’s plants are already old and consequently less efficient. They cannot compete with new technologies”, said Armando Llamas, an electric engineering expert at Tec de Monterrey university.
• ARGUMENT: Amid the coronavirus emergency, the López Obrador Administration issued a directive suspending performance tests for new renewables plants arguing that they were not reliable enough during an emergency. In May, a Mexican judge issued a temporary injunction halting the directive.
