CFE Finds 34B Pesos in Irregularities Under Bartlett

Mexico City — The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) reported pending amounts to be clarified or recovered totaling 34.132 billion pesos during the final year of Manuel Bartlett’s tenure as director general, according to 183 internal audits.

The findings, delivered to the Congress of the Union, detail that audits were conducted across the corporate structure, business units, subsidiary and affiliated companies, as well as generation and transmission works financed through trusts, while the projects are still in progress.

Audits Reveal Billions in Questionable Funds

By the time the report was presented, the CFE had concluded 141 internal audits from 2024. Of these, 27 audits involved 1.5514 billion pesos designated for recovery, while 89 audits implicated 29.6839 billion pesos requiring clarification.

The CFE also conducted multi-year audits, approved in 2023, which determined that 5.7 million pesos must be recovered. Nine of these audits indicated that 2.891 billion pesos remain pending clarification.

Legal Actions and Internal Complaints Initiated

As a result of these findings, three complaints have been filed with the Secretariat of Public Function against the outcomes of three conclusion agreements issued by the CFE's Unit of Responsibilities.

Furthermore, 11 complaints were presented to the CFE's own Unit of Responsibilities, and three matters were referred to the Office of the General Counsel due to irregularities detected in the procurement of goods and services, public works contracts, and a failure to address requirements issued by the Internal Audit to the audited areas.

Federal Auditor Confirms Additional Irregularities

The internal audits were not the only examinations to uncover irregularities in the CFE's operations and investments. The Superior Auditor of the Federation (ASF) also revealed improper payments and delays in construction projects.

The results were included in the first delivery of audit results for the 2024 Public Account, with two more deliveries pending, suggesting the possibility of further observations against the CFE.

One compliance audit, identified as 2024-6-90UJB-22-0056-2025, focused on the expansion of the 115-kilovolt electrical grid of the Corredor Tecnológico-Lajas in Nuevo León. It determined that the CFE must clarify the destination of 2.123675 million pesos due to excess payments, as the execution of two services was not verified.

"The fixed-price work contract number 241003 did not credit the application of conventional penalties because the termination date was set for February 12, 2025; however, during a joint verification visit carried out by personnel from the former CFE Transmission and the ASF from March 31 to April 4, 2025, it was confirmed that the work was still in progress," stated the ASF.

A second audit (2024-6-90UJB-22-0060-2025), examining the reduction of short-circuit levels in the electrical grid of the Monterrey metropolitan area, also concluded in June 2025. The ASF found budgetary discrepancies of 19.366 million pesos between the amount reported as spent in the 2024 Public Account and the supporting documentation for the expenditure.

This audit also reported a 48.3% delay in the execution of the work, a pending balance to be amortized of 252.093 million pesos, and that proper withholdings were not made in the 2024 fiscal year estimates.

Financial Performance and Broader Context

The CFE's annual report also stated that in 2024 it reached accumulated revenues of 667.244 billion pesos, representing a 4% increase (27.4 billion pesos) compared to 2023.

"This increase is mainly due to a rise of 20.045 billion pesos in income from energy sales, 4% more than in 2023," explains the document submitted to Congress.

However, in the first quarter of 2025, the CFE lost 16.092 billion pesos due to rising operating costs, according to data from the Mexican Stock Exchange.

An analysis by the organization México Evalúa found that from 2019 to 2024, the CFE received 523 billion pesos in subsidies to maintain electricity rates below their production cost. This represents a 97% increase compared to the 257 billion pesos it received from 2012 to 2018.

The federal government has announced that during the current administration, from 2025 to 2030, it will invest more than 620 billion pesos in the sector, with approximately 430 billion pesos allocated to increasing electricity generation capacity, which is expected to add 22,674 MW. This plan was announced by the Secretary of Energy, Luz Elena González Escobar, on April 9 of this year.