Mexico: Preliminary draft regulating the new Energy Ministry’s Allocations, Contracts, and Permits Committee

México - 04 / 16 / 2025

This new regulation seeks to strengthen planning and decision-making within the energy sector by establishing a collegiate body with resolution powers over allocations, permits, and contracts under the Energy Ministry’s jurisdiction.

On April 8, 2025, the National Regulatory Improvement Commission (CONAMER) published the preliminary draft of the Operating Procedures of the Allocation, Contracts, and Permits Committee of the Energy Ministry (the Procedures). The Procedures are intended to establish the integration, functioning, and operation of the aforementioned committee, which will be responsible for hearing and resolving matters related to allocations, contracts, permits, authorizations, concessions, and other legal acts under the jurisdiction of the Energy Ministry (SENER), under binding planning criteria so that such activities contribute to the fulfillment of national energy policy.

Nature, integration, and decision-making

In accordance with the Procedures, the SENER Allocation, Contract, and Permit Committee shall be the collegiate body responsible for resolving and making decisions, whose determinations shall be final and binding on other administrative units of the SENER.

The Committee shall be composed of the following members:

I. Chair: the head of the SENER.

II. Five members: the following public servants: a) the head of the Undersecretariat for Energy Planning and Transition; b) the head of the Undersecretariat for Electricity; c) the head of the Undersecretariat for Hydrocarbons; d) the head of the Unit for Strategy, Inter-institutional Liaison, and Project and Investment Monitoring; and e) the head of the General Directorate for Social Impact, Prior Consultation, and Land Use.

III. Technical Secretariat: the head of the Legal Affairs Unit, with voice but no vote.

IV. Permanent guest: the public servant representing the Internal Control Body at SENER, with voice but no vote.

The Committee shall meet monthly with a simple majority quorum and decisions shall be made by majority vote, with the chair having the casting vote in the event of a tie. Members may appoint alternates with the same functions as the incumbent, who shall be public servants with the next lower hierarchical level.

Powers

The Rules establish the following main powers for the Committee:

It should be noted that, for the preliminary draft of the Procedures, SENER requested exemption from regulatory impact analysis, so it will be important to continue reviewing the process and the corresponding deadlines.