Mexican president bats away criticism of new power market rules

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MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday pushed back against criticism of his administration’s new rules for the electricity market, saying he was leveling a playing field that was previously beholden to private interests.

“Before, only the interests of groups were looked after. And the interests of the people of Mexico were not looked after,” he told a regular news briefing, adding that private interests had previously conspired to destroy Mexico’s state-run energy firms.

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A major row broke out late last week over changes Mexico’s government has made to rules governing the electricity market, prompting complaints from foreign powers and business groups that existing contracts were not being respected.

In late April, market regulator CENACE suspended the operation of new renewable energy plants, arguing that power supply needed to be safeguarded during the coronavirus outbreak.

On Friday, the government published rules aimed at giving the government more control over the approval of new renewable energy projects. They are likely to be contested.

The European Union and Canada on Friday both wrote letters to the government to voice concerns about the changes, saying they put renewable energy projects in jeopardy. (Reporting by Dave Graham and Ana Isabel Martinez Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao)