Mexico: Repeated power outages for three days during heat wave

Several regions of Mexico, including the capital Mexico City and its nine million residents, suffered rolling power outages due to a heat-induced surge in consumption, the government said on Thursday. Cuts of this type have already taken place in the country on Tuesday and Wednesday.

They have been reported in Mexico City, neighboring Mexico State, as well as in Michoacan (west), Tamaulipas (northwest) and Campeche (southeast). About 20 of Mexico’s 32 states were hit by power outages last Tuesday, according to a Reuters analysis based on data from grid operator CENACE.

The National Water Commission reported that “maximum temperatures are 48 degrees or higher in the regions of San Luis Potosí (northeast) and Tamaulipas.” Temperatures in Mexico City reached 34.2°C last April, according to Conagua, breaking the record of 33.9°C reached in 1998 (33.9°C).

Production capacity cannot meet demand

“Demand has outstripped capacity,” Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged Thursday as he launched an energy reform during his mandate to increase the Federal Electricity Commission’s (state-run CFE) share of total output.

For its part, the Mexican lobby COPARMEX advocates increased private investment, especially in the renewable energy sector, to improve grid reliability. He specifically explained that “clean energy production and storage infrastructure could avoid future electricity emergencies. “.

The heat wave in Mexico also contributed to lower water levels at several dams in the country. Water supplies in the Kutzamala system, the main source of drinking water for much of the capital, fell to less than 31% on Tuesday, according to national water authority CONAGUA. Experts described this level as extremely low.

Two other countries, Costa Rica and Ecuador, also announced electricity rationing.