The United Mexican States are a federation whose government is representative, democratic and republican, based on the presidential system prescribed by the 1917 Constitution. The Constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal union, the state governments and the municipal governments. All officials at each of the three levels are elected by voters through first-past-the-post plurality, proportional representation or are appointed by other elected officials.

The federal government is constituted by the Powers of the Union, with three separate branches of government:

Legislative: the bicameral Congress of the Union composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. It makes federal law, declares war, imposes taxes, approves the national budget and international treaties, and ratifies diplomatic appointments.

Executive: the President of the United Mexican States, who is the head of state and government as well as commander-in-chief of the Mexican military forces. The President also appoints the Cabinet and other officers. The President is responsible for executing and enforcing the law, and has the authority to veto bills.

Judiciary: The Supreme Court of Justice comprised of eleven judges appointed by the President with Senate approval, who interpret laws and judge cases of federal competency. Other institutions of the judiciary are the Electoral Tribunal, the collegiate, unitary and district tribunals, and the Council of the Federal Judiciary.

Source: Wikipedia

Two main features have to be taken into account regarding the climate of Mexico. These are firstly, the existence of two mountain ranges, one following the Pacific coast and the other the Gulf of Mexico, with a high plateau between the two ranges, and secondly, the fact that the country is divided in two by the Tropic of Cancer. In a very broad sense, the climate south of the Tropic of Cancer is warm, with an average temperature around 22°C when the altitude above sea level is below 1,000 m, and with a temperate climate of an average 15°C above 1,000 m, with broad daily oscillations. North of the Tropic of Cancer, the climate is warm during the summer and cold during the winter, with occasional snowfalls. The four traditional seasons are only felt in some parts in the north of the country. The rest of the country divides the year into two periods: the rainy season, which lasts from April to September, and the dry season which embraces the rest of the year.

The Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant is located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, at latitude of 19°43'30" North and longitude of 96°23'15" West. The climate is warm and humid, with rain during the summer and little precipitation during the winter. The annual average humidity is 80%, and throughout the year the temperature oscillates between a minimum of 8°C and a maximum of 39°C. The prevailing winds, especially during summer, blow from the northeast, while during winter the site is affected by winds coming from the north with velocities of between 70 and 90 km per hour. The seawater, which is used as cooling water, has an average annual temperature of 27.5°C, with a maximum of 34°C during summer, and a minimum of 21°C in winter.

In 2012, the Mexican population reached almost 116 million inhabitants (see Table 1), and was estimated to grow by 4.6 million in absolute terms. The population growth rate in 2012 was 0.99%, and the population density increased to 61.4 inhabitants per square kilometer.

The total population in Mexico was last recorded at 116.9 million people in 2012 from 36.9 million in 1960, changing 216 percent during the last 50 years. Population in Mexico is reported by the World Bank. From 1960 until 2012, Mexico’s Population averaged 76.0 Million reaching an all time high of 116.9 Million in December of 2012 and a record low of 36.9 Million in December of 1960. The population of Mexico represents 1.66 percent of the world´s total population which arguably means that one person in every 61 people on the planet is a resident of Mexico. The value for Population density (people per sq. km of land area) in Mexico was 61.4 as of 2012.

TABLE 1: POPULATION INFORMATION

*Latest Available DataSource: World Bank Group, Trading Economics

In Mexico, the services sector is the greatest component of GDP, followed by the industrial sector, with the agricultural sector comprising the least. Of the work force, it is estimated that 18% is employed in agriculture, 24% in industry and 58% in the services sector.

The manufacturing industry, despite its importance in national production, has faced a critical situation during recent years due to the increase in competitors. Effects of this have been intensified as it must compete against countries with different work and environmental regulations and different levels of government support.

Mexico is the second largest economy in Latin America. The World Bank Group engagement with the country is structured around a model that provides development solutions adapted to the country, with an integral package of financial, knowledge and convening services.

Economic growth in 2013 fell to 1.1 percent, compared to the strong recovery experienced between 2010 and 2012 (annual average growth of 4.3 percent). Deceleration in economic activity was driven by weaker export demand and a contraction in domestic investment, largely in construction. A gradual recovery of economic activity with more dynamic exports as the U.S. economy gains steam and normalization of public expenditures should bring economic growth back to a range of 3 to 4 percent over the next few years.

This data shows that the Mexican economy has achieved an increase in the value of goods and services produced in a year. These are produced at a lower rate than other nations, which explains the lower place.

TABLE 2: GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT

* PPP: Purchasing Power Parity

** Latest Available Data

Source: IAEA Energy and Economic Database.

Mexico is one of the 10 largest oil producers in the world, the third-largest in the Americas after the United States and Canada, and an important partner in the U.S. energy trade. However, Mexico's oil production has steadily decreased since 2005 as a result of natural production declines from Cantarell and other large offshore fields. The rate of total production decline has abated in past several years. In December 2013, in an effort to address the declines of its domestic oil production, the Mexican government enacted constitutional reforms that ended the 75-year monopoly of Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the state-owned oil company.

Oil is a crucial component of Mexico's economy. The oil sector generated 13% of the country's export earnings in 2013, a proportion that has declined over the past decade, according to Mexico's central bank. More significantly, earnings from the oil industry (including taxes and direct payments from PEMEX) accounted for about 32% of total government revenues in 2013. Declines in oil production have a direct impact on the country's economic output and on the government's fiscal health, particularly as refined product consumption and import needs grow.

The energy sector in Mexico has certain limitations in terms of private participation, and foreign companies are allowed to operate in the country only through specific service contracts. As required by the Constitution, the electricity sector is federally owned, with the Federal Electricity Commission (Comisión Federal de Electricidad or CFE) essentially controlling the whole sector. Attempts to reform the sector have traditionally faced strong political and social resistance in Mexico, where subsidies for residential consumers absorb substantial fiscal resources.

The electricity sector in Mexico relies heavily on thermal sources (76.3% of total installed capacity), followed by hydropower generation (21.9 %). Although exploitation of solar, wind, and biomass resources has a large potential, geothermal energy is the only renewable source (excluding hydropower) with a significant contribution to the energy mix (1.9% of total generation capacity). Expansion plans for the period 2006-2015 estimate the addition of some 14.8 GW of new generation capacity by the public sector, with a predominance of combined cycles.

TABLE 3: ESTIMATED AVAILABLE ENERGY RESOURCES

Generation

The generation sector was opened to private participation in 1992. However, the Comisión Federal de la Electricidad (CFE), the state-owned utility, is the dominant player in the generation sector, with two-thirds of installed capacity. As of the end of February 2012, private generators held about 23.3% of generation capacity, mostly consisting of combined-cycle gas-fired turbines (CCGFT). Private generators have to sell all their output to CFE, as they are not allowed to sell directly to users. There is indeed a commercialization monopoly controlled by CFE.

Total private generation permits, awarded by CRE as of March 2012, are summarized in the table below:

Consumption of electricity in 2011 was 170.42 TWh, which corresponds to 1,789 kWh per capita. Consumption share by sector was as follows:

· Residential: 25.82%

· Industrial: 57.85%

· Commercial: 6.72%

· Agriculture: 5.69%

· Services: 3.92%

TABLE 4: ENERGY STATISTICS

Complete Table 4 in Exa-Joules (EJ)

* Latest available data

** Energy consumption = Primary energy consumption + Net import (Import - Export) of secondary energy

*** Solid fuels include coal and lignite

Source: IAEA Energy and Economic Database

The Ministry of Energy (SENER) determines Mexico's energy policy within the current national framework, with the purpose of ensuring a competitive, high quality, affordable, reliable and environmentally sound energy supply to fuel economic growth.

This responsibility entails ensuring wide-spread access to affordable energy services, as well as fostering the development of industry leaders at the forefront of technology innovation, in both public and private firms.

SENER advocates energy efficiency through a substantial increase in international funds for research, development, diffusion and deployment of green appliances. It promotes the use of alternative sources of energy to deepen security of supply.

Diversification has been promoted especially in the electricity sector, with the inclusion of geothermal energy, nuclear energy, some solar energy, in rural areas isolated from the electrical grid, and recently with the addition of some wind energy.

The concept of integrating the energy markets of Mexico, the United States, and Canada is gaining popularity. Numerous pipelines and transmission lines already connect the United States and Canada, though few span the U.S.-Mexico border. Companies are building power plants in northern Mexico to generate electricity to satisfy rapid demand growth from industrial and residential users. Given Mexico's less burdensome environmental regulations relative to those of California, it is possible that more power plants will be planned for northern Mexico to help satisfy the energy needs of both northern Mexico and southern California. While greater integration of the United States and Mexico is progressing, Mexico should not be seen as a solution to future electricity-supply shortfalls in U.S. markets, such as those in California in 2001, certainly not in the short- to mid-term.

Mexico is a net energy exporter, and the difference between its energy production and consumption is mainly comprised of crude oil exports. Energy consumption in 2010 was estimated to increase to about 9.0 Quads at an average rate of increase of 2.8% per year.

The Federal Electricity Commission is a Mexican government entity that generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity to more than 35.3 million customers, representing nearly 109 million people annually and incorporating more than a million new customers. The infrastructure for generating electric power is composed of 210 power stations with an installed capacity of 51,177.2 megawatts (MW).

23.3% of installed capacity corresponds to 22 stations built with private capital by Independent Power Producers (PIE), In the CFE, electricity is produced using different technologies and different primary energy sources. It has power plants, hydroelectric dams, coal plants, geothermal plants, wind power plants and nuclear plants.

To conduct electricity from generating plants to the home of each customer, the CFE has over 809,095 kilometers of transmission and distribution lines.

The power supply comes to 194,399 thousand seats (190,655 rural and 3744 urban). 97.61% of the population uses electricity, and in the last ten years, 42 thousand solar modules have been installed in small communities far from large population centers. This technology will be widely applied in the future for those communities that still lack access to electricity.

While the household sector comprises 88.39% of the customers, their sales represent 25.82% of total retail sales. A reverse situation occurs in the industrial sector, where less than 1% of customers represent 57.85% of sales.

The CFE is also the federal government entity responsible for planning the national electricity system, which is reflected in the Program of Works and Electricity Sector Investment (POISE). This describes the evolution of the electricity market and the expansion of generation and transmission capacity to meet demand over the next ten years, and is updated annually.

The company is committed to providing excellent services, ensuring a high quality in all its processes and operating at the level of the best electric companies in the world.

CFE is a public agency with legal personality and its own patrimony

Energy policy and, specifically, electricity industry policy, is the responsibility of the Ministry of Energy. Policy for the electricity industry is published in a document called "Electricity sector outlook", a 10 year program revised annually that incorporates analyses of present electricity demand and supply, the projected evolution of national and regional demand, the proposed expansion plan for generation, transmission and distribution capacity and the estimation of required investments. The elaboration of this program is coordinated by the Ministry of Energy, and done with the help of a multidisciplinary group formed by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), the Mexican petroleum company (PEMEX), the energy regulatory commission (CRE) and the Electricity Research Institute (IIE).

The external electricity trade is carried out through nine interconnections between the United States and Mexico and one interconnection with Belize. These connections have primarily been used to import and export electricity during emergencies. In 2007, Mexico exported 1.3 TWh of electricity from the United States, while importing 0.7 TWh.

Companies have built power plants near the United States-Mexico border, with the aim of exporting generation to the United States. There are also plans to connect Mexico with Guatemala and Belize as part of the Central American Interconnection System. The 400 kV Mexico-Guatemala interconnection line was commissioned in April 2009, and has an estimated transmission capacity of 200 MW from Mexico to Guatemala, and 70 MW in the opposite direction.

CFE is not a part of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, although its transmission system in northern Baja California is part of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and it has a few other interconnections across the border with the United States.

Most of the future generation capacity is expected to be based on gas-fired, combined-cycle type plants due to their cleaner emissions, lower investment costs, shorter construction periods and higher thermal efficiency compared to other conventional fossil fuelled plants.

The total capacity of electrical plants installed in Mexico in 2013 was 53.45 GWe. From the total capacity installed, 72.89% is thermal, 21.45% hydro, 1.53% geothermal and 3.02% nuclear. Mexico has a singles nuclear power plant Laguna Verde which has the capacity of 1.620 MW and two reactors. Laguna verde is operated by CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad).The general trend in thermal generation is a decline in petroleum-based fuels and growth in natural gas and coal. Since Mexico is a net importer of natural gas, higher levels of natural gas consumption (i.e. for power generation) will likely depend upon higher imports from either the United States of via liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Gross generation in Mexico in 2013 was 257.88 TWh that same year (not including cogeneration and autogeneration), with 81.73% coming from conventional thermal sources, 10.64% from hydroelectricity, 4.58% from nuclear power and 0.70% from geothermal sources.

The expansion program contemplated by SENER for the period 2012-2026 includes the addition of 44,532 MW by the public service.

TABLE 5: ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION & CAPACITY

*Latest Available Data

**Electricity transmission losses are not deducted

TABLE 6: ENERGY RELATED RATIOS

*Latest available data

**Net import/Total energy consumption.

Source: IAEA Energy and Economic Database

The National Commission for Nuclear Energy (CNEN) was established in 1956, to pave the way for the introduction of nuclear power and nuclear applications in Mexico. CNEN encompassed all the nuclear activities in the country (exploration for uranium, nuclear research, regulation, etc.) but the generation of electricity by nuclear means, which was the sole responsibility of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), and the utilization of radioisotopes. Later, CNEN was transformed into the National Institute on Nuclear Energy (INEN), which redefined the attributes but with very few changes.

In 1979, INEN was replaced by three organizations: The National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ), in charge of all the aspects related to research, Mexican Uranium (URAMEX), in charge of uranium exploration and eventually uranium production, and the National Commission on Nuclear Safety and Safeguards (CNSNS), in charge of nuclear regulation and safeguards. In 1985, URAMEX was dissolved and all its functions passed to the Ministry of Energy.

Mexico’s interest in nuclear power dates back to the early 60s. The first concrete steps were taken in 1966, when a preliminary investigation of potential sites for nuclear power stations was carried out under the auspices of CFE and the National Commission for Nuclear Energy. At the end of the decade, the government concluded that nuclear power plants might play a major role. In early 1969, CFE decided to invite bids for a 600 MW(e) nuclear power plant of a proven type, and invitations to tender were sent to several manufacturers. Bids were received at the beginning of 1970, but the final decision, with up-to-date bids, was taken in the middle of 1972. In 1976, construction of the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant (LVNPP) was initiated, comprising two reactors of 654 MW(e) net each. The first unit went into commercial operation in 1990, and the second in April 1995.

As mentioned above, there is only one nuclear plant in operation in Mexico, with two BWR reactors of 810 MW(e) net each (Table 7). For the time being, there are no plans regarding new units or new plants. The National Energy Plan, issued in 1990, is still currently valid, however it will probably be revised in the near future.

Laguna Verde unit 1 went into commercial operation in 1990. Its performance has been quite good since the very beginning. Unit 2 went into commercial operation in April 1995.

TABLE 7: STATUS AND PERFORMANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Extended Power Up rated (EPU)

In 2006, plans for a power uprate of 20% were announced, that would bring the plant's capacity up to 1620 MWE. General Electric performed the engineering analysis to determine the necessary plant modifications and to support the safety analysis report, necessary for approval of the power uprate by the Mexican nuclear regulator.

Following a competitive tender, which was won by Iberdrola and Alstom, work began in 2009 and was finished in 2011. The main modifications consist of a turbine and condenser retrofit and the replacement of the electric generator, main steam reheater and the feedwater heater. The budget for the project is $605 million. At the time of writing, the power uprate has been finished and units 1 and 2 have passed all the operational tests, allowing them to operate at full power (1620 MW).

License renewals

Efforts are underway to get the new license to operate in the extended power up rated (EPU). The second phase took place in: Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant U1 14th Refueling Outage in March 2010, and U2 11th Refueling Outage took place in August 2010. Several major changes include, mainly in the BOP side, new high pressure and low turbines, new generator, new main transformer and auxiliary one new Electro Hydraulic Control System (EHC), change of bypass valves and so on.

The Licensing Amendment Request is under review by the National Commission on Nuclear Safety and Safeguards (CNSNS). Additional information on Preliminary Updated Safety Analysis Report (PUSAR) requirements has been received, along with approval for the use of the Transient Analysis Code (TRACG) in anticipated Operational Occurrence (AOOS).

No nuclear power plants are planned for development.

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

ININ is focused on the creation and development of technology, carrying out research projects in response to energy sector needs, as well as in order to develop disciplines from which our country could benefit.

This institute has qualified personnel, recognized both nationally and internationally. These are expert in several sciences and engineering areas, which provides the institute with the ability to support multidisciplinary projects.

None

1. Agreement of co-operation between the Mexican Electric Research Institute and the Electrical Power Research Institute of the United States of America (USEPRI) for the development and application of the RETRAN-3 Code for NPP's operational transient analysis.

2. Agreement of co-operation between the Mexican Electric Research Institute and the USEPRI in the development and application of the R & R Workstation for NPP's probabilistic risk analysis applications.

3. Agreement of co-operation between the Mexican Electric Research Institute and the USEPRI in the development and application of the MAAP-3 Code for NPP's severe accidents analysis.

4. Agreement of co-operation between the Mexican Electric Research Institute and the USEPRI in the development and application of the CPM-3 Code for the nuclear data library generation for advanced fuels.

5. Agreement of co-operation between the Mexican Electric Research Institute and the Rensselear Polytechnic Institute of the United States for the development and application of the April Code I for NPP's severe accidents analysis.

6. Agreement of co-operation between the Mexican Electric Research Institute and the Cuban Institute for Hydrography for the development of the Northwest Caribbean Sea Oceanographic Chart. I