Mexico’s Permanent Commission of Congress has approved a measure calling for a review of electricity rates and subsidies affecting Ojinaga, where extreme summer temperatures can drive household power consumption and utility bills sharply higher.
The proposal, advanced by Sen. Mario Vázquez Robles of Chihuahua following efforts involving Ojinaga municipal officials, asks federal authorities to consider a preferential electricity rate for the border community based on its extreme climate.
Vázquez argued that Ojinaga residents routinely face high electricity consumption because air conditioning and other cooling equipment become necessities rather than luxuries during periods of intense heat.
The proposal was incorporated into a broader report approved by the Permanent Commission’s Third Committee on Economic Affairs addressing electricity rates, subsidies and service quality in several parts of Mexico.
“For the inhabitants of Ojinaga, high temperatures are not only a matter of well-being,” Vázquez told lawmakers, according to information announcing the measure. He said the climate also directly affects household finances because cooling homes requires substantial electricity consumption.
The congressional action calls on the Federal Electricity Commission, known as CFE, the Secretariat of Energy and the National Center for Energy Control to strengthen programs related to Mexico’s national electrical system and keep criteria governing electricity rates and seasonal subsidies updated.
It also calls for strengthened mechanisms for addressing concerns from electricity customers.
Ojinaga sits directly across the Rio Grande from Presidio, Texas, in one of the hottest portions of the Chihuahuan Desert. Summer temperatures regularly create significant demand for residential cooling.
Approval of the measure does not itself establish a new preferential electricity rate for Ojinaga. Instead, it advances the request for federal authorities to review the community’s circumstances and consider whether its extreme climate warrants different treatment under Mexico’s electricity rate and subsidy structure.
