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Since 2015, the energy sector has been experiencing the negative effects of lower oil prices, which have led to a fall in production. Between 2012 and 2015, primary energy production contracted at an annual rate of 3% (Table 4.5). In 2015, it amounted to 8,261 petajoules, with hydrocarbons accounting for 87.2%, renewables for 7.9%, coal for 3.5%, and nuclear energy for the remaining 1.5%.

Table 4.5 National Energy Balance: Economic and Energy Indicators, 2012 2015
Description 2012 2013 2014 2015
(...)
Energy production (petajoules) 9,059.4 9,052.9 8,854.3 8,261.0
Coal 310.8 299.9 303.7 287.7
Hydrocarbons 8,035.7 7,994.3 7,783.0 7,203.9
Crude petroleum 5,918.9 5,814.6 5,597.2 5,067.7
Condensates 87.7 134.1 106.3 98.8
Natural gas 2,029.1 2,045.6 2,079.5 2,037.3
Nuclear energy 91.3 122.6 100.6 120.4
Renewables 621.6 636.1 667.0 649.1
Hydropower 114.9 100.9 140.0 111.2
Geo-energy 133.1 131.3 129.9 134.5
Solar energy 6.6 7.6 8.7 10.2
Wind energy 13.3 15.1 23.1 31.5
Biogas 1.8 2.0 1.9 1.9
Biomass 351.8 379.3 363.3 359.8
Cane bagasse 95.1 123.9 109.2 107.0
Wood 256.7 255.4 254.1 252.8

Apart from SENER, various government agencies interact in the energy sector: (a) the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH); (b) the Regulatory Commission for Energy (CRE); (c) the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP); (d) the Ministry of the Economy (SE); (e) the National Natural Gas Control Centre (CENAGAS); (h) the National Energy Control Centre (CENACE); and (i) the National Agency for Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection in the Hydrocarbons Sector, known as the Safety, Energy and Environment Agency (ASEA) (Table 4.6). Moreover, SENER has several decentralized bodies with technical and managerial autonomy: the National Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy; the National Nuclear Safety and Safeguards Commission; the Mexican Petroleum Institute, and the National Electricity and Clean Energy Institute.

Table 4.6 Principal functions of the energy sector institutions
Hydrocarbons and their products Electricity
SENER (...) • Establishes the criteria for granting clean energy certificates and the requirements for obtaining them.
(...)
CRE (...) • Grants clean energy certificates.
(...)
ASEA • Issues the rules and regulations on industrial safety and environmental protection. (...) • Establishes measures for managing the waste from hydrocarbon exploration and extraction activities.

Box 4.1 Objectives of energy policy
The objectives of the Sectoral Energy Programme 2013 2018 are:
• to improve hydrocarbon production and processing capacity, by ensuring efficient and competitive processes;
• to improve the operation and promote the extension of electricity infrastructure;
• to develop transport infrastructure so as to ensure energy security, thereby contributing to economic growth;
• to increase the number of users;
• to extend the use of renewable and clean energy sources, while encouraging energy efficiency and social and environmental responsibility;
• to strengthen the operational safety of the installations;
• to promote the financing of energy projects; and
to encourage the participation of domestic suppliers.

(...) ASEA is a decentralized agency of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), which regulates and supervises the operational safety of the installations, industrial safety in the enterprises, the dismantlement and abandonment of installations, and the management of waste and pollutants.

A constitutional amendment, introduced in 2013, changed the model for the management of energy resources and introduced a series of modifications of energy sector legislation. Pursuant to this amendment, the State retains control of "strategic" activities, namely: the supply of radioactive minerals for nuclear power generation; exploration for and extraction of hydrocarbons; the transmission and distribution of electricity; and planning and control of the national electricity grid. The new legal framework stipulates that the private sector may participate in "strategic" activities through contracts with the State but not under concessions.

Table 4.7 Changes in the legal framework of the energy sector introduced as a result of the constitutional reform of 2013
New laws (and their new regulations) Laws repealed Laws revised
(...)
Electricity Law on Geothermal Energy (Regulations implementing the Law on Geothermal Energy) National Waters Law
Law on Energy Transition (not yet regulated) Law for the development of renewable energies and the financing of the energy transition; Law for the sustainable supply of energy

Safety and the environment Law on the National Agency for Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection in the Hydrocarbons Sector

(...) Since the energy reform, the State has retained only control over the "strategic" activities of transmission and distribution, which are carried out by the CFE. Another "strategic" activity is the use of radioactive minerals for generating nuclear power, so that the State can generate electricity in nuclear power stations. (...)

The price stability in the domestic and agricultural sectors is mainly attributable to the assistance granted, which made it possible to avoid major fluctuations in the average price of electricity between 2012 and 2014. On the other hand, the downward trend in average electricity prices in the industrial and commercial sectors is due to the gradual replacement of fuels such as fuel oil by lower cost and more environmentally friendly sources (natural gas and hydroelectric plants, for example). According to the authorities, between September 2012 and September 2016, real reductions of between 8.6% and 20% in average electricity prices were observed.