As of September 30, the debt of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) reached 774 billion pesos, the second-highest level for a third quarter in the last eight years. This reflects the persistence of high financial commitments within the company's balance sheet. The figure implies short-term obligations to suppliers and contractors and comes in a context of higher operating costs. This caused a reduction in operating profit from 1,223 to 1,017 billion pesos, a 16.8% drop compared to 2024. This is not an improvement in the efficiency of the electricity business, but rather a tailwind that relieved the income statement. Mixed contracts with CFE generate interest that Pemex fails to achieve. In the balance sheet, total debt stood at 4,873 billion pesos, 4.2% less than a year earlier. The company also paid 438 billion pesos in interest, the highest amount for a similar period since 2018. Even in that context, CFE reported a net profit of 1,251 billion pesos, when a year earlier it had a loss of 858 billion pesos in the period. The key lies in the financial income derived from the appreciation of the peso against the dollar. While energy costs remain high and the pressure from interest and labor liabilities continues to rise, the balance of the accounts will depend less on operations and more on what happens with the peso and financial conditions. The reduction was concentrated in short-term debt, which fell to 1,187 billion, while long-term debt remained practically stable at 3,685 billion. On the other hand, the period's profit rests on financial factors associated with the exchange rate, not on an improvement in the business. Even so, the financial picture is not comfortable: labor liabilities rose to 4,419 billion and net equity decreased by 3.2%, signs that obligations continue to grow faster than the capacity to strengthen capital. The quarterly result leaves a double message: on the one hand, the debt with suppliers returns to levels that trigger alerts and forces the company to manage its short-term payments more carefully. The exchange rate result compensated for the operational deterioration and allowed for positive numbers in the year-to-date. According to the 'CFE in the spotlight' report, prepared by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) based on the company's own financial reports, CFE faces an increase in expenses that pressured its operation, but the exchange effect allowed it to close the quarter with profits. During the first nine months of the year, selling costs increased by 12.5%, driven by the rise in natural gas prices, whose average price rose by almost 50% in the last year. CFE's debt to suppliers grew 3.8% annually in the third quarter of 2025.
