Bates White expert testifies in Mexican energy arbitration matter under ICC rules
Collin Cain was retained by an independent power plant owner in Mexico to provide expert testimony in a contract dispute before an ICC International Court of Arbitration tribunal, addressing damages claimed by the owner’s counterparty, the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). The client owns multiple gas-fired combined cycle power plants in Mexico operating under long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with CFE.
Mr. Cain submitted two expert reports and presented live oral testimony at an arbitration hearing in Mexico City in July 2025. The testimony addressed the compensation provisions of the PPA for capacity and energy from the power plant and the application of those contract provisions with respect to a past plant outage. Mr. Cain’s testimony explained the structure and commercial logic of the PPA, the Mexican electricity market context that existed when the contract was executed, and the inapplicability of a novel damages claim and calculation methodology being advanced by CFE.
A decision by the arbitral tribunal is expected early in 2026. Mr. Cain was supported by Ben Sokol.