New resolution of the Energy Regulatory Commission regarding the scenarios that constitute a permit update
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On June 25, 2021, the Energy Regulatory Commission (the "CRE") published in the Federal Official Gazette the “Resolution that establishes the scenarios that constitute a permit update” (the "Resolution"),1 to consolidate the scenarios previously issued by CRE that give rise to an update of the electricity or hydrocarbon permits, as well as to modify the procedure to carry out said process. The following aspects of the Resolution stand out:
1. Scenarios. The scenarios that give rise to the updating of a permit remain substantially in the same terms as those established in the agreements previously issued by CRE, the most relevant being:
In all permitted activities, except for the transportation of natural gas through pipelines in the modalities of own uses and self-supply:
a. Modifications in the corporate structure or capital stock of the permit-holder, as long as it does not derive from a transfer of shares or equity interest that, directly or indirectly, implies the assumption by the acquirer of the control of the permit-holder, that is to say, a change of control;
b. Modification of the name, business name or corporate name of the permit holder, partners or shareholders;
c. Corrections to permits due to omissions or minor errors in the capture of permit applications or modification requests by applicants; provided that, the ownership, the nature of the activity that is the subject of the permit, the original design of the system in terms of capacity or extent of the same, the location of the system, or any other substantive element related to the permitted activity is not modified; and
d. Corrections due to capture, typographical or editing errors, in the permit holder’s titles and their annexes, as applicable, by CRE staff; among others.
In matters of hydrocarbons, petroleum products and petrochemicals, as well as bioenergetics, with the exception of the transportation of natural gas through pipelines in the modalities of own uses and self-supply:
In matters of hydrocarbons, petroleum products and petrochemicals, as well as bioenergetics, with the exception of the transportation of natural gas through pipelines in the modalities of own uses and self-supply:
a. The replacement of facilities and equipment with similar ones that are individually identified in the permit, provided that the capacity, length, trajectory or operation of the system is not modified;
b. The registration, cancellation or modification of the routes and destinations of the transportation and distribution systems by means other than pipelines;
c. The change of operator of the permitted system, when applicable due to the nature of the permit, which must be made known to the National Agency of Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection of the Hydrocarbon Sector for the corresponding effects;
d. The registration, cancellation or modification of the vehicle fleet registry, in the event of transportation and distribution permits by means other than petroleum pipelines, LP Gas and natural gas.
In the area of power generation and electricity supply:
a. The decrease in the authorized capacity of power generation plants, as well as in authorized demand for importing electric power, as long as there is no change in technology for the first case;
b. The change in direct current capacity in applicable power generation equipment, as long as there is no change in altering current capacity;
c. The modification in the operation commencement date of the suppliers; and
d. The change of location of a power plant that, due to its characteristics, could be moved without disassembling the main equipment to a new interconnection point, in the cases established in the Resolution.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, considering that only the topics that are included in the permit holder’s titles are subject to updating.
2. Procedure. The procedure for updating permits is modified, since now CRE’s Board of Commissioners must approve such updates. It should be noted that, originally, the corresponding area within CRE (Electricity or Hydrocarbons Unit, as the case may be) was in charge of resolving the update request, since it was considered that these were matters that did not require a technical, legal or financial analysis. This allowed permit updates to be authorized by CRE promptly.
Nonetheless, it is now foreseen that the CRE’s Board of Commissioners will be the authority responsible for approving the update requests, while the corresponding administrative unit (Electricity or Hydrocarbons Unit) will only be responsible for carrying out the analysis, technical and legal validation, the evaluation of appropriateness and issuing the corresponding draft resolution for approval by CRE’s Board of Commissioners.
In particular, the transitory articles of the Resolution establish, among other aspects, that: (i) the Resolution comes into effect on June 26, 2021; (ii) upon the entry into force of the Resolution, the resolutions that previously regulated the permit updating assumptions are repealed, that is to say the Resolutions: A/005/2008, A/043/2016, A/043/2018 and A/038/2020; and (iii) the procedures initiated prior to the entry into force of the Resolution shall continue to be substantiated with the regulations in force at the time of filing the application.
1 Available at: https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5622246&fecha=25/06/2021
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