How Long Does It Take to Energize a Plant in Mexico? What the Law Fixes, and What It Leaves Open
Mexican law fixes 72 hours for the last step of a grid connection and nothing for the studies and works. Which periods are fixed and how to control the rest.
By Pedro Gloria · GP&H Legal
In short
Mexico's electricity statute sets a deadline of seventy-two hours for the last step of connecting a plant to the grid, and ten business days to sign the connection contract, a period that binds both the utility and the applicant. It sets no deadline for the steps that take longest: the grid studies and the works the grid needs before the plant can be connected. Neither does the Regulation issued in October 2025. The only maximum periods for the studies are in the 2018 interconnection Manual, issued under the previous law and applicable insofar as it does not conflict with the new framework; for the works there are none.
That is the honest answer to "how long does it take": the law tells you how fast certain steps must move, and leaves the middle to technical instruments, to the utility's works programme and to what you decide to build yourself. And the CNE's model contract places the dates of the works on the applicant. This guide sets out which periods are fixed, which are not, and where a plant owner can take control of the timetable.
It covers two situations: a plant that consumes power (a Centro de Carga), and a plant that also generates or stores power on site.
1. The legal framework as of October 2026
| Instrument | What it does here |
| Ley del Sector Eléctrico (LSE), Official Gazette, 18 March 2025 | Obliges the transmission and distribution utilities to connect, and fixes the only two deadlines in this guide that apply to every connection |
| Reglamento de la Ley del Sector Eléctrico, Official Gazette, 3 October 2025 | Develops works, contributions, disputes and generation permits. Sets no period for connection studies |
| CNE model interconnection and connection contract, Official Gazette, 17 March 2026 | The contract signed with the utility. Makes the applicant responsible for the infrastructure dates and the estimated operation date, which are filled in for each project |
| Manual para la Interconexión de Centrales Eléctricas y Conexión de Centros de Carga, Official Gazette, 9 February 2018, and Bases del Mercado Eléctrico, Official Gazette, 8 September 2015 | Issued under the previous law. Continue in force until replaced, insofar as they do not conflict with the new law and Regulation (Fourth Transitory Article of the Regulation). The Bases leave the periods to the Manual (Base 5.1.2), and the Manual sets the maximum periods for the studies and the contract. The 2026 model contract itself refers to the Manual |
The regulators changed with the 2025 reform. The Comisión Nacional de Energía (CNE) replaced the former Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Centro Nacional de Control de Energía (CENACE) remains the grid operator that defines what infrastructure a connection requires.
2. The two deadlines the law does fix
Article 48 of the LSE obliges the transmission and distribution utilities to connect load centres and interconnect power plants "in conditions that are not unduly discriminatory, where this is technically feasible." And it fixes two periods:
The utility must "enter into the interconnection or connection contracts, based on the models issued by the CNE, within ten business days following notice of the corresponding order from CENACE, and carry out the physical interconnection or connection within seventy-two hours following notice of the corresponding order from CENACE."Each period runs from a different CENACE order, and the two orders come at different moments. The instruction to sign the contract comes once the specific characteristics of the required infrastructure have been defined, that is, when the studies end and before the works (section III). The order for physical connection comes at the end: the same article provides that connections take place "once the connection works, interconnection works and reinforcement works determined by CENACE have been completed," and after an inspection unit certifies compliance (sections IV to VI). The 2018 Manual confirms it: CENACE orders the physical connection once it receives the inspection unit's Certificate of Compliance (paragraph 12.4.1). The seventy-two hours are real, but they are the last seventy-two hours of a timetable the law does not set.
The ten business days also bind the applicant. Article 49 provides that "the applicant must enter into the interconnection or connection contract referred to in section III of the preceding article within the ten business days referred to in the penultimate paragraph of that article." Section III of Article 48 also leaves to the Market Rules the maximum periods for the applicant to request the contract. Today those periods are in the 2018 Manual: the applicant has thirty business days from notice of the Facilities Study to request it, extendable once by fifteen more; if it does not, the studies lose their validity and the process starts again (paragraphs 13.3.1, 13.3.5 and 13.3.6). Corporate documents and guarantees should be ready before the instruction arrives.
If the utility refuses or exceeds the periods, Article 48 provides that the CNE "must determine whether there is justified cause and rule on it." The model contract adds a duty for the applicant: if the utility misses those periods, the applicant must inform CENACE and the CNE "no later than the following business day" (Clause Eighteen). And the Regulation provides that, when the utility suspends connection works, the CNE may investigate and the utility must answer within ten business days (Article 117).
3. What the law does not fix, and where the time goes
The studies
Article 49 of the LSE assigns to CENACE the definition of "the required infrastructure, the mechanisms to establish the order of priority of requests and the procedures to carry out the joint analysis of requests affecting the same region of the country." Neither the law nor the Regulation sets how long the studies take. The Regulation leaves the procedure to the network access rules and general administrative provisions (Articles 114 to 116).
Until those are replaced, the instruments issued under the previous law continue to apply, and there the periods do exist. The 2018 Manual sets maximum response periods (paragraph 1.6.3), expressed in business days (paragraph 1.6.4). For a conventional load centre:
| Step | Responsible | Maximum period (business days) | Manual reference |
| Review of the application and, if needed, request for information | CENACE | 20 | Table 9 |
| Complete the missing information | Applicant | 20 | Table 9 |
| Impact Study | CENACE | 45 | Table 9 |
| Request the Facilities Study | Applicant | 20 from notice of the Impact Study | Table 10 |
| Facilities Study | CENACE | 35 | Table 9 |
| Request the instruction to sign the contract | Applicant | 30 from delivery of the Facilities Study | Tables 10 and 15 |
| Contract instruction process | CENACE and applicant | 30 | 13.4.1 |
| Signing of the contract | Utility and applicant | 10 | 13.4.2 |
| Request the Validation of Technical Requirements | Applicant | At least one year before the estimated operation date | Table 10 |
| Validation of Technical Requirements | CENACE | 35 | Table 9 |
The Manual provides that a load centre's connection application is to be handled within a maximum of 170 business days (paragraph 13.2.2). For power plants, the maximum period from acceptance of the application to the contract instruction is 70 business days for plants of 0.5 to 10 MW and 275 for plants of 10 MW or more (paragraph 13.3.10). As a rough guide, 170 business days are about eight months and 275 about thirteen (approximate conversion, at 21 business days per month).
Three rules in the Manual move the clock: the applicant may request a technical clarification of each study within 15 business days, CENACE must answer within 7, and meanwhile the period to request the next study is suspended (paragraphs 13.3.8 and 13.3.9); each of the applicant's periods may be extended once, and if CENACE does not answer the request within 5 business days it is deemed granted (paragraph 13.3.4); and if the applicant lets a period lapse, the studies lose their validity and the application starts from zero (paragraphs 13.3.3 and 13.3.6).
Two caveats. These periods belong to the previous regime and apply only insofar as they do not conflict with the new law and Regulation. And they are maximum processing periods, not construction periods: they end with the signing of the contract, which is where the longest item begins.
The works
When the grid needs new or reinforced infrastructure to connect a plant, the utility is obliged to build it if the applicant makes the corresponding contribution, calculated on the most economical technical solution (Regulation, Article 128). No provision sets how long the utility has to build it.
The March 2026 model contract does not give the utility a deadline either. It places the dates on the applicant: "The Applicant is responsible for compliance with" the start and completion dates of the required infrastructure and the estimated operation date, which must be consistent with the permits and works programmes (Clause Twelve). The consequences are in the model itself:
- Termination. The contract may be terminated if the applicant misses the start and completion dates of the infrastructure and the delay exceeds "a maximum period of six (6) additional months" beyond the original date or the authorised extension (Clause Three, paragraph b). Missing the estimated operation date, unless extended, is a ground for rescission on thirty business days' notice (Clause Three, paragraph d, section I).
- Guarantee. If the applicant decides not to build the infrastructure, does not build it on the agreed dates, or misses the estimated operation date without having requested or obtained an extension, it must cover the amount CENACE determines through total or partial execution of the guarantee, under the Interconnection and Connection Manual, or under any contributions agreement it has signed (Clause Twenty-Six). Guarantee deposits and periodic fees before operation are authorised by the CNE (LSE, Article 49).
- Extensions longer than six months. They are processed as an amendment to the generation or storage permit before the CNE, or as an extension for the load centre before CENACE. The studies already issued must be validated to determine whether the infrastructure "remains part of the original planning or loses its original status," and the guarantees must be extended for the same period (Clause Twelve).
As for delays on the utility's side, the model obliges the utility to tell the applicant the reasons, and allows the applicant to notify the CNE and CENACE with evidence (Clause Twelve). It is a duty to inform, not a deadline. The 2018 Manual adds that, where delays are not attributable to the applicant, the commercial operation date is moved by the number of days the applicant notifies and reliably proves are beyond its control (paragraph 12.3.8). Our reading: the contract's timetable risk sits with the applicant even when the utility builds the works, unless it proves the delay is not attributable to it, which is why every utility delay should be documented.
Public ranges
Beyond the Manual's maximum processing periods, we looked for construction lead times published by the authorities, by voltage level or by region, and did not find any. Figures circulating in the market come from contractors and consultants, not from CENACE, the CNE or the utility, and we do not repeat them here.
4. Where a plant owner can take control of the timetable
Build the works yourself. The law allows the applicant to "carry out, at its own cost, the works to install the required infrastructure" (LSE, Article 49). Article 128 of the Regulation allows the applicant to opt to carry out the specific works, extensions or modifications at its own cost, and Article 131 allows the applicant to build the network for the electrification of its load centres directly or under an agreement with the utility. And "no contributions are owed by the applicant when construction is carried out by the applicant itself, in accordance with the relevant specifications and standards" (LSE, Article 50, section IV). Building yourself does not remove the studies or CENACE's order, but it moves the longest single item from the utility's programme to yours, which is where the contract already places the risk.
Ask for the works to be included in the grid programme. The same Article 49 allows the applicant to ask CENACE or the Ministry of Energy to include specific works in the grid expansion and modernisation programmes, "provided this contributes to the Reliability of the National Electricity System, subject to CENACE's evaluation under the criteria issued by the CNE for that purpose." The law does not say this route is faster; it is a way of funding the works, subject to evaluation.
Budget the costs that are always yours. Under Article 134 of the Regulation, when the works require land acquisition, rights of way, environmental or social impact studies, permit fees or works on third-party property, "their management and cost must be covered by the Applicant." Those items have their own timetables and they run in parallel with the grid process.
Do not overpay for oversized works. If the utility builds beyond what the applicant needs, the applicant pays only the proportional part, never more than the most economical solution (Regulation, Article 130).
Use the dispute route early. An applicant who considers that CENACE or the utility is not following the rules may challenge the act before them and then before the CNE (Regulation, Articles 137 to 139).
5. If the plant also generates or stores power
A permit is not a connection. Article 27 of the Regulation is explicit: granting a generation or storage permit "does not imply any approval for interconnection or connection" to the grid. The two processes run separately and one does not shorten the other.
Nor is the permit a prerequisite for the studies. Article 49 of the LSE provides that "in no case shall the generation permit be taken as a criterion for the order of priority of interconnection or connection requests, or as a requirement to request the determination of the specific characteristics of the required infrastructure." Waiting for the permit before requesting the studies costs time the law does not require.
Permits have a fixed maximum. Applications before the Ministry of Energy or the CNE must be resolved within sixty business days of receipt (Regulation, Article 25). A simplified procedure applies to interconnected self-supply of between 0.7 and 20 MW, with a response time no longer than that (Article 58).
The permit and the contract move together. If a power plant needs an extension of more than six months on its dates, the model contract requires it to be processed as an amendment to the permit before the CNE (Clause Twelve). The permit dates and the contract dates should be planned as a single timetable.
Isolated self-supply. A plant generating only for its own consumption needs a generation permit (Article 53). Projects of up to 20 MW are exempt from the Energy Sector Social Impact Assessment (Article 54). If the plant also needs power from the grid, the consuming facility signs its own connection contract, with a reverse-power or low-consumption protection that prevents injection (Article 56).
Interconnected self-supply. A plant that buys power from the grid must sign the interconnection or connection contract and install the same protection (Article 57).
Generation for the wholesale market. CENACE must publish the maximum interconnection capacities without reinforcement within twenty business days of the publication of the Electricity Sector Development Plan. And before construction starts, the project must have the final authorisation of the Social Impact Assessment and prove it has started the interconnection studies before CENACE (Regulation, Articles 67 and 205).
6. What to do before signing for the land
| # | Action | Why |
| 1 | Request the connection studies before committing to the site, with the demand the plant will need at full operation, without waiting for the generation permit | The studies define the works, the works define the timetable, and the permit is not required to request them |
| 2 | Decide early whether to build the specific works yourself | It is the most direct lever over the longest item, and the contract already places the risk of those dates on the applicant |
| 3 | Put land, rights of way and impact studies for the works in the project plan | They are on the applicant's account and run on their own clock |
| 4 | Have documents and guarantees ready before CENACE's instruction | The applicant has thirty business days to request the contract and ten to sign it, and the Manual requires the guarantee for a load centre in the individual modality no later than 20 business days after receiving the Facilities Study (paragraph 15.5.1) |
| 5 | Set the contract dates with the construction programme in hand, and request the Validation of Technical Requirements a year before the estimated operation date | A delay of more than six months on the infrastructure dates is a ground for termination, the guarantee is at stake, and the Manual requires that lead time |
| 6 | If there will be generation on site, run the permit and the connection in parallel, on one timetable | The permit does not approve the connection, and a long contract extension requires amending the permit |
| 7 | Keep a written record of every request, response and utility delay | If the utility misses the Article 48 periods, CENACE and the CNE must be told by the next business day, and it is what the CNE will look at |
Our guide on the critical path of energy and water permits explains why these decisions come before the land purchase, and our guide of 15 October will address the order of the land and the utility feasibility in detail.
What remains open
The manual that replaces the 2018 Manual. The Regulation delegates the procedure for the studies, and the 2018 Manual remains in force only insofar as it does not conflict with the new law and Regulation. When its replacement is issued, the periods in section 3 may change.
The contributions regime. The Regulation keeps the old contributions regulation in force until the CNE issues its own general administrative provisions (Second Transitory Article). As of this guide's cut-off date, the CNE has not issued them. We will update this guide when they are published.
Companion analysis
Sources: Ley del Sector Eléctrico, Official Gazette of the Federation, 18 March 2025, Articles 48, 49 and 50; Reglamento de la Ley del Sector Eléctrico, Official Gazette of the Federation, 3 October 2025, Articles 25, 27, 53 to 58, 67, 114 to 117, 127 to 134, 137 to 139 and 205, and Second and Fourth Transitory Articles; CNE Agreement issuing the model contract for interconnection, connection or both to the National Transmission Grid or the General Distribution Networks, Official Gazette of the Federation, 17 March 2026, Clauses Three, Twelve, Eighteen and Twenty-Six; Manual para la Interconexión de Centrales Eléctricas y Conexión de Centros de Carga, Official Gazette of the Federation, 9 February 2018, paragraphs 1.6.3, 1.6.4, 12.3.8, 12.4.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4 and 15.5; Bases del Mercado Eléctrico, Official Gazette of the Federation, 8 September 2015, Base 5.1. English renderings of Spanish statutory and contractual text are ours and the Spanish original governs. Information cut-off: 30 September 2026, the date on which the text was verified. GP&H Legal advises international operators on establishing and running industrial facilities in Mexico, with particular focus on the energy and water permitting that determines whether a plant can operate at all. This note is general information, not legal advice on any specific matter, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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