United States, Mexico sign agreement to promote reliability of interconnected power systems

Officials from the United States and Mexico signed a non-binding bilateral agreement this week to support reliability of the increasingly integrated U.S. and Mexican electricity grids.

“The United States and Mexico have a long-standing energy partnership that is being strengthened further as Mexico advances its impressive energy sector reform,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said. “Electricity system integration will help both countries achieve economic, energy and environmental goals, and these agreed upon principles will help assure reliability and resilience.”

The principles in the agreement will help carry out the recommendations in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) 1.1 and the recently released QER 1.2. Both installments of the review cover increased integration of North America’s energy systems, including six recommendations in 1.2

The U.S. and Canadian electricity grids are well integrated. This agreement helps the United States and Mexico along a similar path.

The agreement was signed by Moniz, Mexico’s Secretary of Energy Pedro Joaquin Coldwell, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Norman Bay, Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Guillermo Ignacio Garcia Alcocer, and National Center for Energy Control Director Eduardo Meraz Ateca.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson, and President and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation Gerry Cauley witnessed the signing.