Mexico power outages undermine government no‑blackout promises

Since the start of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration in 2019, the head of the state utility CFE, Manuel Bartlett, and the president repeatedly assured the public that Mexico would not experience power outages. Their statements were reinforced by promises to build new generation capacity, such as a combined‑cycle gas plant in La Paz and additional plants in the Yucatán Peninsula.

Despite these pledges, nationwide outages have persisted, with 27 states reporting blackouts by June 2026 and affecting tens of millions of customers. Critics attribute the failures to inadequate investment in transmission and distribution networks, as well as to the delayed and inefficient integration of purchased power plants, including a $6 billion acquisition of 13 Iberdrola‑owned facilities that added little capacity. The government has begun labeling the events “interrupciones” rather than “apagones,” emphasizing distribution faults over generation shortfalls.

The continued disruptions have also drawn attention to related incidents, such as the Dos Bocas refinery fire linked to a cogeneration plant failure during an outage. Officials, including incoming President‑elect Claudia Sheinbaum, now stress the need for further infrastructure investment to resolve the recurring power reliability issues.