President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Monday that Emilia Esther Calleja Alor will lead the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) during her six-year term of government, a key post in an administration that will seek to accelerate the energy transition.
Calleja, an electrical engineer and two-decade veteran of the state-owned electricity company, will become the first female general director of the CFE once Sheinbaum’s presidency starts on Oct. 1.
She will replace Manuel Bartlett, an 88-year-old former governor of Puebla and federal interior minister.
Calleja is currently the director of CFE Generación I, one of six electricity generation subsidiaries of the state firm.
At a press conference on Monday, Sheinbaum noted that Calleja will become the first woman to head up the CFE and highlighted that she is “an engineer who comes from below.”
“She grew up in the CFE, and she is a woman who loves the Federal Electricity Commission,” she said.
“She knows the subject, and as you will see she has an enormous capacity for leadership,” Sheinbaum said.
Calleja has held a variety of roles during a 21-year career at the CFE, including superintendent of a thermal power station, head of the company’s “analysis and results” department and director of chemical and environmental operations at the firm’s National Training Center in Celaya, Guanajuato.
She also worked as a manager on a power plant construction project during a career in which she has been a trailblazer for women in an industry dominated by men.
The newspaper Reforma reported that Calleja’s appointment as the next CFE director was “well-received” in the sector, with electricity industry experts highlighting her experience and technical knowledge.
In a short address, Calleja described her appointment as “an extremely high honor” and pledged to “continue the legacy and work” of the current government.
“As we are well aware, [the government] rescued the CFE and defended Mexico’s energy sovereignty. We will continue to strengthen the CFE’s 54% participation in national [electricity] generation, promote its growth and guarantee that electricity reaches all homes at accessible prices,” she said.
Calleja also pledged to promote the “efficient use” of electricity and “the energy transition.”
Sheinbaum has promised to spend more than US $13 billion on a renewables-focused energy plan, asserting in April that a government she leads would invest in solar, wind, hydro and geothermal projects.
The plan she outlined represents a significant shift away from the current government’s fossil fuel-focused strategy, but Sheinbaum has also committed to moving ahead with gas-burning power plant projects that are already under construction or have been planned.
Among the key challenges for Calleja will be to ensure that the CFE generates enough energy to meet demand. A majority of Mexico’s states were affected by blackouts earlier this year when demand for electricity spiked as temperatures soared across much of the country.
Mexico’s capacity to take full advantage of the nearshoring opportunity also hinges, in part, on its ability to generate enough energy — including renewable energy — to meet the needs of industry.
The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) said in a report in February that “making the most out of nearshoring requires shifting to renewables.”
“With global manufacturing activity increasingly seeking to decarbonize its production processes, Mexico’s abundant renewable energy resources could be a substantial competitive advantage,” the OECD said.
“However, the share of electricity generated from renewable sources remains low [at around 10%], it added.
Calleja will join other powerful women in Sheinbaum’s cabinet
Calleja, who has an electrical engineering degree from the Technological Institute of Celaya and a master’s in management from the Autonomous University of Coahuila, will be among several women to hold key positions in the next federal government.
Sheinbaum, who will become Mexico’s first female president when she is sworn in on Oct. 1, has already named current Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez as her interior minister; former Mexico City official Luz Elena González Escobar as her energy minister; and current Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena as her environment minister.
Of the 20 members of her cabinet she has announced so far, 10 are women.
Calleja will be part of Sheinbaum’s expanded cabinet, which includes the heads of various government agencies and state-owned companies.
The president-elect has not yet named who will lead the state oil company Pemex during the next six years, or who will head up the army and navy, positions whose power has increased over the past six years as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador relied heavily on the military for public security and a broad range of other non-traditional tasks.
With reports from Reforma, El Financiero, El Economista and El Universal
