Mexico Blackouts Hit Yucatán Businesses as CFE Restores Power After ‘Vandalism’
A mega blackout hit Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Chiapas and parts of Campeche on 31 August. The CFE blames vandalism on two 400 kV lines; Mérida's businesses count the cost of years of outages. The post Mexico Blackouts Hit Yucatán Businesses as CFE Restores Power After ‘Vandalism’ appeared first on The Rio Times .
A widespread power outage struck the Yucatán region of Mexico on the night of Monday, 31 August, following the failure of two 400 kV transmission lines. State utility CFE attributed the cause to vandalism targeting the insulator chains of these high-voltage lines. Initial supply restoration occurred shortly after midnight, with full service recovered by 3 a.m. the following day.
The disruption affected businesses across Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Chiapas, and parts of Campeche, leaving millions without power for several hours. The outage reignited debates about the peninsula's fragile grid infrastructure, with local business leaders citing recurring outages that already inflict significant economic losses. A recent survey by Mérida's commerce chamber found that every merchant polled reported at least partial or total suspension of operations due to frequent power failures, with some experiencing outages multiple times per week.
The peninsula's grid weakness has been documented, with previous blackouts in June of this year and June of last year affecting large portions of the region. The CFE has acknowledged the growing demand for electricity and the need for additional transmission capacity and generation to support the expanding tourism and industry sectors.
However, the state government's projected timeline for resolving the issue remains at least two more years before fully addressing the structural deficiencies in Mexico's southeast power grid.
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