ENERGY SAFETY NETS MEXICO CASE STUDY

The report analyzes four Energy Safety Nets in Mexico: differentiated electricity tariffs, Oportunidades Energéticas, the Fondo de Servicio Universal Eléctrico (FSUE), and a pilot program for subsidized LPG. It finds that while electricity tariffs provide broad support, they are inefficiently targeted. Other targeted programs, such as Oportunidades Energéticas and the LPG pilot, were short-lived and lacked significant impact on shifting households to cleaner fuels. The FSUE has provided thousands of connections but faces data gaps and is currently on hold. The study recommends targeting electricity subsidies using social assistance registers and expanding the FSUE to include clean cooking technologies.

• Mexico utilizes a complex residential electricity tariff structure consisting of increasing block tariffs (IBT), volume-differentiated tariffs (VDT), and regionally-differentiated tariffs to ensure basic affordability. On average, this subsidy covers 54 percent of the cost of residential electricity, which is equivalent to 0.5 percent of total GDP.
• The electricity tariff system is considered an inefficient mechanism for supporting the poor because it is not specifically targeted and subsidizes low-consuming households regardless of their income level.
• Oportunidades Energéticas (2007–2011) provided cash transfers to between 4.5 million and 5.2 million households to support energy costs, covering approximately 21 to 25 percent of their energy spending. However, an external evaluation found the program did not significantly impact the adoption of cleaner energy technologies or fuels to replace firewood, diesel, or coal.
• The Fondo de Servicio Universal Eléctrico (FSUE), established in 2016 to provide electricity to remote communities, connected 42,085 households by mid-2018. The program has faced challenges including a lack of data and a CFE requirement that communities be within five kilometers of the existing grid for extension projects, which may exclude the most marginalized.
• A pilot program from July 2017 to December 2018 sold subsidized LPG through Diconsa stores, donating over 13,000 sets of stoves and cylinders across 12 states. The program's effectiveness and reasons for termination are unknown due to a complete lack of publicly available information.
• Energy consumption costs disproportionately affect the poorest households in Mexico; the lowest four income deciles spend 5.4 percent or more of their income on energy, while the richest decile spends less than 3.2 percent.

APA

Sanchez, P., Chavez, D., Bello, C., Morales, A., Bello, A., & Moreno, A. (n.d.). ENERGY SAFETY NETS MEXICO CASE STUDY. Sustainable Energy for All. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2020-06/ESN_Mexico_SEforALL.pdf

Chicago

Sanchez, Paul, Danilo Chavez, Claudia Bello, Adrian Morales, Abigail Bello, and Aban Moreno. ENERGY SAFETY NETS MEXICO CASE STUDY. Sustainable Energy for All, n.d. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2020-06/ESN_Mexico_SEforALL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sanchez |first1=Paul |last2=Chavez |first2=Danilo |last3=Bello |first3=Claudia |last4=Morales |first4=Adrian |last5=Bello |first5=Abigail |last6=Moreno |first6=Aban |title=ENERGY SAFETY NETS MEXICO CASE STUDY |publisher=Sustainable Energy for All |url=https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2020-06/ESN_Mexico_SEforALL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sanchezndenergy, author = {Sanchez, Paul and Chavez, Danilo and Bello, Claudia and Morales, Adrian and Bello, Abigail and Moreno, Aban}, title = {{ENERGY SAFETY NETS MEXICO CASE STUDY}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, url = {https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2020-06/ESN_Mexico_SEforALL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }