Mexico's CRE approves a new division of tariff zones applicable to SISTRANGAS

This press release from CRE was published using an automatic translation system.

The Organ of Government of the CRE approved the proposal of CENAGAS for a new division of tariff zones of the SISTRANGAS that passes from six to nine tariff zones.

With the opening of the natural gas market, it has become relevant for SISTRANGAS users to pay a transport tariff according to the distance traveled. The new zoning seeks to reflect with greater precision the costs associated with transporting natural gas between the different parts of the national territory. With this decision, the CRE contributes to strengthening the country's energy security by generating competitive conditions to increase national production of natural gas, the most efficient fuel in terms of cost and environmental impact for electricity generation and numerous industrial processes.

In order to meet the objective of users paying a transport fare according to the distance traveled, it was necessary to increase the number of fare zones to nine. The tariffs were defined taking into account the existing infrastructure and commercial flows of natural gas, which will reflect the cost of moving natural gas to the different regions of the country. Thus, the rates assigned to each of the new zones were determined using a methodology based on the costs associated with the distance and reserved capacity of each zone.

These rates will come into effect on October 1 and will be valid until December 31, 2018. Meanwhile, the rates approved in RES / 2675/2017 will continue to apply for the period from August 1 to September 30, 2018.

The new zones are represented graphically in the following map:

Source: CENAGAS

The SISTRANGAS is composed of seven transport permits that, in sum, accumulate a network of natural gas transport pipelines of 10 thousand and 55 kilometers.

It is important to mention that, in the context of the new division of tariff zones, there are the necessary conditions to offer certainty for the operation of the systems that make up the SISTRANGAS, for the CENAGAS as manager and for the users of said System.

For the particular case of the systems that make up the SISTRANGAS, the tariff rezoning does not represent changes in the authorized revenues in their respective five-year plans.

On the other hand, the users of the SISTRANGAS can be assured that said tariff rezoning will be maintained as long as the technical conditions of the system do not change, which will allow them to make decisions in an environment of stability, legal and commercial certainty.

Likewise, the tariffs will improve the economic signals tending to the national production close to the consumption centers, by reflecting the transportation cost of the natural gas within the new zones, including the import cost of natural gas. This development will have a favorable social and economic impact for the population, especially in the south of the country, by increasing the availability of this fuel that is economical and clean for use at residential, industrial and electrical generation levels.

With the tariff rezoning of the SISTRANGAS, the CRE advances in the implementation of the Public Policy of the Natural Gas Market in Mexico, taking into account the new conditions of this market that promote the availability of gas through various marketers and greater production in the territory. national.