Minera Autlán reached an agreement this week to take control of Compañía de Energía Minera (CEM) in order to strengthen its energy business and further reduce costs.
CEM is a subsidiary of Grupo Ferrominero, a company that developed and operates the hydroelectric plant Atexcaco; Autlán already owns 49 percent of its share capital.
Autlán has a contract to purchase electricity from CEM in the long term to meet about 30 percent of its energy needs with lower rates. The cost of electricity represents about 25 percent of the company’s total cost, hence the importance of the agreement.
Additionally, the company added a new energy business division so that it can reduce its high dependence on a single mineral by developing new generation projects that would be open to energy reform, first for self-supply and then to potentially sell surplus power to third parties.