The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) reported that service was restored in four southeastern states that were without electricity for approximately seven hours beginning Monday evening, blaming the lengthy blackout on vandalism.
As the 34-degree (93 F) day came to an end, cities across the Yucatán Peninsula were darkened after two high-voltage power lines were “damaged.” The power outage crippled commercial activities in Mérida, a city of nearly 1 million people, and left hundreds of businesses unable to process electronic payments, operate refrigeration systems or run air conditioning. Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Chetumal and parts of Chiapas and Campeche were also impacted.
La Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) informa que, tras las afectaciones en dos líneas de alta tensión por actos de vandalismo, se ha restablecido al 100% el suministro de energía a usuarios afectados en los estados de Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Campeche y Chiapas.… pic.twitter.com/OQoXlt3rB1
— CFEmx (@CFEmx) September 1, 2026
In a statement on social media issued at 3:08 a.m. Tuesday, the CFE reported that “following damage to two high-voltage lines due to acts of vandalism, the energy supply has been 100% restored to affected users in the states of Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Campeche and Chiapas.”
The state-owned electric utility said that once its “specialized personnel were deployed to the site,” they were able to quickly identify the problem as “damaged insulation strings” on one of the transmission structures. After several hours of “uninterrupted repair and restoration work,” power was restored to the region.
The explanation that the blackout was caused by vandalism targeting the insulators on two 400 kV high-voltage lines was met with skepticism by members of the public, dozens of whom responded to the CFE statement on X with critical comments.
The respondents recalled that former CFE director Manuel Bartlett (2018-2024) frequently blamed vandalism, illegal connections and sabotage to explain away widespread electrical grid failures and instability.
The lack of accountability fueling public skepticism is highlighted by a scandal in late 2020 where the CFE forged official documents to blame a Tamaulipas brushfire for a blackout affecting 10 million people.
Monday’s blackout affected more than 10 million people in southeastern Mexico while also partially impacting the neighboring country of Belize.
The region is no stranger to electricity insufficiencies due to the combination of extreme heat, low power generation and the lack of infrastructure to distribute natural gas. One year ago, a blackout left more than 2.2 million residents in the region without power for six hours, and rolling blackouts affected the area in May 2025.
With reports from The Yucatán Times, El País, Diario de Yucatán and LopezDoriga.com
