Vitol's private auction scheme in Mexico picks up almost 50 companies

Close to 50 companies have registered to participate in a private electricity procurement process launched in Mexico by London-based energy trader Vitol, Mexican energy-focused news portal Petroquimex reported Tuesday.

The registration process on Vitol’s trading platform MexicoElectrico has recently concluded, with power generators, suppliers, marketers and final users showing interest in closing ten-year contracts that are expected to move 3 TWh annually. The platform offers capacity, energy, clean energy certificates (CELs) and congestion differentials as products these entities can procure or sell.

According to Petroquimex, Vitol expects its new vehicle to spur investments of up to USD 1 billion (EUR 908.7m) in the next ten years and allow companies, private and state-owned, to finance electricity generation projects in Mexico.

From what little information is available on MexicoElectrico, the procurement process is designed to be technology-neutral and opened to both new projects and existing capacity. The platform is supposed to complement the government’s power auctions, not replace them.

Another feature of the MexicoElectrico's scheme is that participants will not be signing contracts with each other, but with Vitol, which will act as the counterparty for the buyers and the sellers.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.909)

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