Mexico's national electric utility, the Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) selected a bid by El Paso Electric Co., El Paso, to provide firm capacity and associated energy sales for the peak summer months of 2000 and 2001.
"The selection of EPE's bid is a testament to our commitment to the Mexican market and our longstanding relationship with the CFE," said James Haines, El Paso Electric president and CEO. El Paso Electric has had contracts in the past with CFE for up to 200 Mw. The last contract expired in 1998, a company official said.
The bid is for sales of up to 80 Mw of power in 2000, increasing to 100 Mw in 2001. Sales are scheduled to begin June 1, 2000, and end Aug. 31. They will resume May 1, 2001, and continue through Sept. 30 of that year.
El Paso Electric is an electricity utility that serves about 300,000 retail customers in El Paso and parts of the Rio Grande valley in West Texas and southern New Mexico. It provides power to wholesale customers in southern New Mexico, Texas, California, and Mexico. El Paso Electric provides electric service to the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua to the Ciudad Juarez area.
Under that deal announced Monday, the two companies have 10 working days to finalize and execute a contract.