Enrique Ochoa Reza (Morelia, Michoacán; September 1, 1972) is an energy specialist, Ph.D. in Political Science and master's degrees from Columbia University, Lawyer from the UNAM and Economist from ITAM, professor and author. He is currently Global Industry Director: Energy, Utlities & Resources at IFS since July 2021; and Advisory Board Member at Corinex Communications since 2022.
He was a Federal Congressman in the LXIV Legislature of the Mexican Congress, where he served as Secretary of the Energy Commission and Secretary of the Justice Commission. From July 2016 to May 2018, he was the President of the National Executive Committee of PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). He served as CEO of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), Mexico's state-owned power and natural gas company, from February 2014 to July 2016, and before he served as Undersecretary of Hydrocarbons in the Ministry of Energy (SENER) from December 2012 to February 2014, where he promoted a constitutionally embedded energetic opening.
Biography
He was born in Morelia, Michoacán on September 1, 1972. He is the son of Tomás Enrique Ochoa Moguel and Carmen Reza Chávez; he is married to Greta Rojas Sánchez with whom he has a daughter and a son. He is an economist who graduated from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and a lawyer graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He has a master's degree in Political Philosophy, a master's degree in Political Science and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University, where one of his Professors was Joseph Stiglitz who is a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
Professional Experience
He has worked in the economic and academic sectors. At present, he is a Federal Congressman and Secretary of the Energy Commission. Before this, he served as CEO of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and he also served as Undersecretary of Hydrocarbons in the Ministry of Energy where he drove the energetic opening.
He has been part of different Energy Forums in México and abroad. He was a speaker in The Center on Global Energy Policy of Columbia, New York and in The Inter-American Dialogue, Washington D.C.
CEO of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE)
In February 2014, he was appointed CEO of the Federal Electricity Commission to replace Francisco Rojas Gutiérrez. As CEO he drove the use of renewable energy sources and natural gas to generate electricity instead of using expensive fuels such as fuel oil and diesel which are contaminants. He also supported the Renewable Energy Auctions and the Clean Energy Certificates (CEL) to increase the generation of renewable energy. Three auctions which drove 74 projects in 15 different States took place. These auctions were internationally recognized due to their transparency and for achieving the lowest competitive prices registered in the world until then. The Clean Energy Certificates were used to reach the goal established in The General Law on Climate Change where 35% of the electricity generated in 2024 should come from clean sources. The Certificates were modified in 2019, compromising its efficiency. He launched 85 projects of infrastructure and gas pipelines through tenders supervised by Mexican Transparency. Those projects translated into investments of 26 thousand 230 million dollars to incentivize the electrical sector under the rules of the energetic opening.
Collective Bargaining CFE-SUTERM
During his administration, he renewed the Collective Labour Agreement with CFE-SUTERM which cut down the labour liabilities in 160 thousand million pesos. Once the negotiation concluded, CFE reported profits of 106 thousand 846 million pesos in its first semester of 2016, being this the first time since 2010 that the Company reported a positive financial result. Its operating profit was 142,438 million pesos larger (400%) than the loss of 35,592million pesos that the CFE registered in the same period of 2015. When the renewal of The Agreement ended, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit contributed with 160 thousand million pesos which added up 320 thousand million less of the historical labour liabilities of 630 thousand million pesos.
The construction of new gas pipelines in México, due to long-term transportation contracts with CFE, allowed the Electricity Company to use more natural gas to generate power and replace fuel oil and diesel which are expensive and polluting. This resulted in an important reduction in costs. Additionally, the renegotiation of the Collective Labour Agreement in 2016, allowed to reduce the labour liabilities enhancing the finances in the short, medium and long term of CFE. Both policies were achieved during the Administration of Enrique Ochoa Reza, and gave leave to CFE to become a profitable company for the following 4 years, surpassing years of negative results. The net profits obtained by CFE in 2016 were of 76,300 million pesos; in 2017 were of 108, 200 million pesos; in 2018 were of 41, 900 million pesos and in 2019 were of 48,500 million pesos.
Leaving CFE
In September, 2016, after leaving CFE to become the President of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), he received 1 million 200 pesos (more or less 64 thousand American dollars in 2017) as settlement. After some questions arose, in December of that year Ochoa decided to donate the exact same amount to the Michou and Mau Foundation which treats burned children and to the UNAM Foundation.
Federal Government
In the beginning of his professional career, what stands out is his experience as the advisor of the Secretary of Energy, Luis Téllez Kuenzler, from 1997 to 1999.
In December 2012, he was appointed Undersecretary of Hydrocarbons in the Ministry of Energy of the Government of the Republic, where he led the technical group that redacted and drove the energetic opening of 2013.
In that same year, he was designated as a member of the Board of Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). He also designed the National Strategy for the Supply of Natural Gas.
Judicial Power of the Federation
In the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Branch (Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación) he was the Director of the Center for Electoral Judicial Training, he was also the Private Secretary of the Chief Justice María del Carmen Alanís Figueroa. He also served as Technical Secretary of the Academic and Editorial Committee, and Technical Secretary of Training and Judicial Branch Career Committee.
Legislative Branch
In the LXIV Legislature, he was a Federal Congressman and Secretary of the Energy Commission, Secretary of the Justice Commission and Secretary of the Permanent Commission, of the Mexican Congress, during the first recess of the second legislative year. He is also part of Social Security Commission. He was part of the Budget and Public Account Commission for the discussion of the Federal Budget for 2021.
According to the Information System on Parliamentary Interventions of the Mexican Congress, Enrique Ochoa Reza is the 5th Congressman, out of 500, with the highest number of participations during the LXIV Legislature (2018 to 2021). He is also a member of the PRI with the highest participations, in the Plenary and in the Commissions, according to data from the same parliamentary information system.
He has driven an intense agenda in favor of renewable energy resources, electric transportation and the installation of solar panels in the Federal Congress, for it to be the first self-sufficient legislative precinct in México, that could generate all the renewable electricity it consumes. He has introduced points of agreement and pronouncements to promote and to defend the right to produce and consume clean energy. He has also supported initiatives which promote circular economy and forbid the use of single use plastic. When it comes to Justice, he has stand out for proposing modifications to the Mexican National Domain Extinction Law because he considers it anti-constitutional. He contended and voted against the Constitutional Reform Act about Unofficial Remand Prison because he considers it violates the fundamental right of presumption of innocence.
Actively participated in the defense of a federalist and equitable Federal Budget for 2021, both in the commission and in the Plenary.
Asserted the need to label resources specifically for the purchase and application of COVID-19 vaccines, in order to guarantee their universal, free, timely and non-discriminatory access.
He spoke out against budget cuts to strategic sectors, states and autonomous organizations. He also pointed out that the Federal Electricity Commission is weakened by the 12% reduction in its budget in 2021.
He promoted the provision of greater resources to CFE, so that it could carry out the maintenance of generation plants and the existing electricity transmission network. Also, to invest in the development of clean energies and in the expansion of the transmission network; as well as in the modernization and expansion of hydroelectric power plants. He argued that, without sufficient economic resources, there is a risk of not having electricity to grow and there could even be blackouts in the future.
He voted against budget cuts for Michoacán and other states. He presented multiple proposals for readjustments and increased budgets for the states. He signed the so-called "Mother Reserve", through which a package of economic revitalization, regional development and metropolitan development was proposed.
To attend children with deafness, in the discussion of the 2021 Expenditure Budget, he requested the allocation of additional resources for the ISSSTE, the IMSS and the Health Sector.
He presented multiple technical arguments against the Preferential Initiative to reform the Electricity Industry Law since it would affect the generation of renewable energy. He pointed out that such reform breaks the principle by which modern electric systems work: the most economical electric energy is used first. The new law establishes that energy generated with fuel oil and diesel will be dispatched from CFE plants before solar, wind or natural gas plants in the private sector, which are low cost and friendly to the environment.
He affirmed that this amendment to the Electricity Industry Law will make the National Electrical System more expensive by 135 billion pesos. This amount was estimated by the Budget and Public Account Commission of the Chamber of Deputies. Consequently, there will be an increase in electricity bills or taxes will have to be increased to pay for more subsidies.
He emphasized that, with this reform, Mexico will not reach the environmental goal of the Paris Agreement or the Energy Transition Law. The goal establishes that 35% of electricity generation must be from clean sources by 2024. Likewise, the reform will affect public health due to the high emission of pollutants associated with the generation of electricity with fuel oil and diesel. In addition, this rule change affects the Investment Chapter of the trade agreements to which Mexico is a party.
He also presented, on behalf of the Congresswomen and Congressman of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, a dissenting vote against the Opinion of the Preferential Initiative. This was because it considered that Articles 25, 27 and 28 of the Constitution were violated according to the criteria expressed by the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation when resolving Administrative Agreements on the central matter of the electric counter-reform.