Mexico and Latin America grapple with widespread power outages amid heat wave and scheduled cuts

Across Mexico, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) is confronting a wave of blackouts that have hit more than 20 states, including Veracruz, Morelos, Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León and Coahuila. Extreme heat and overloaded transmission lines have forced businesses in Veracruz to seek backup generators, while the business federation Coparmex urges CFE to invest in maintenance. In addition, the CFE announced planned eight‑hour cuts in Campeche and a city‑wide interruption in Cancun, and the utility reported a full restoration of service in Baja California Sur after a temporary generator shutdown.

In Puerto Rico, LUMA Energy scheduled extensive maintenance that will cause intermittent outages lasting up to 12 hours in 18 municipalities on 25 June. Cuba’s Granma province suffered a transmission‑line fault that briefly knocked out power to hospitals and several circuits. Argentina’s southern conurbation saw a massive outage affecting more than 21 000 customers in Avellaneda and nearby districts, prompting the local ombudsman to call for the resignation of the operator’s senior manager. Colombia’s Electrificadora de Santander (ESSA) announced scheduled cuts in multiple neighborhoods of Piedecuesta, and Honduras’s ENEE listed dozens of towns and barrios that will experience planned interruptions on 24 June for maintenance work.

The outages disrupt households, commercial activities and essential services such as health care and water supply. Authorities in the affected regions have advised residents to protect appliances, conserve food refrigeration and plan critical activities around the scheduled blackouts, while repeatedly urging CFE and other utilities to accelerate infrastructure upgrades.