The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) restored power in the southeastern Yucatán Peninsula on Tuesday morning after several power outages were reported across the state of Quintana Roo.
The blackouts, which began at 6 p.m. on Monday, affected seven of the 11 municipalities in Quintana Roo, including the tourist destinations Tulum, Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Isla Mujeres, Cozumel, Bacalar and Puerto Morelos.
🔴#Urgente | México sufre apagones masivos y prolongados en Yucatán, Campeche y siete municipios de Quintana Roo: Bacalar, Cancún, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Puerto Morelos e Isla Mujeres. pic.twitter.com/aBXjDEqxdi
— Pedro Márquez (@PedroMrquez_) March 25, 2025
In Cancún, the power outage primarily affected the northwest corner of the city. Residents in the neighboring states of Campeche and Tabasco also reported several hours of power outages on social media.
CFE reported that the blackouts were due to the poor quality of natural gas caused by high humidity levels in the Mayakán gas pipeline that runs from southern Tabasco to Valladolid, Yucatán.
The commission said in a statement that because of the poor gas quality, generating plants were forced to switch to alternative fuels.
“To mitigate the impacts during this period of irregular supply, the Generation Subdirectorate, in coordination with the subsidiary CFEnergía and the National Energy Control Center (Cenace), made the decision to implement scheduled power outages for periods of time (rotating outages) to minimize the impact on users,” the bulletin stated.
CFE reported that power was restored to 47% of those affected in Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatán by 9 p.m. on Monday.
Following major power disruptions during the summer months of 2024, the CFE recently announced it would invest approximately US $12 million in the installation of new capacitor banks across Quintana Roo and a three-phase transformer in Playa del Carmen.
The investments are expected to improve the state electrical system’s efficiency when hot weather creates excessive demand.
With reports from Milenio, Animal Politico and Infobae
