Widespread recent power outages in Mexico were caused by unseasonably hot weather, the country’s president has said, assuring consumers that the national grid has sufficient generating capacity going forward.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters at a regular government press conference that his government will also coordinate with private power producers, responsible for about half of Mexico’s electricity generation.
Around 20 of Mexico’s 32 states were affected by recent rolling power outages, according to data from grid operator CENACE. Recently, net national power demand totalled around 44.9 gigawatts (GW), just under a new generation of 45.0 GW.
“This was something exceptional that was not expected,” said Lopez Obrador, pointing in particular to a heat wave scorching parts of the country. “But we’re going to be very attentive to this special situation we’re dealing with,” he added.
COPARMEX, a major Mexican employer’s lobby, pitched more private investment especially for renewable energy as a way to improve the grid’s reliability. “The participation of private investment would provide stability in the face of the various contingencies and challenges of the national electricity system,” it said. “The generation of clean energy and the creation of storage infrastructure could avoid future electricity emergencies.”
