Third day of blackouts in Mexico: power outages reported in Edomex, Puebla and San Luis Potosí

At least three entities had problems with the electricity supply on the third day of blackouts Credit: Cuartoscuro

For the third consecutive day, inhabitants of several entities were affected by blackouts, in the midst of the state of emergency of the National Electric System. This May 9, residents of the State of Mexico, Puebla and San Luis Potosí are among those affected.

In Mexican territory, part of the first reports of the night focus on the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl. While in Puebla the neighborhoods of the state capital are the main affected.

The power outages began around 8:00 p.m. this Thursday and in some cases have lasted for more than 30 minutes.

On this occasion, the number of reports is lower than in previous days, especially compared to what happened on May 7, when more than 10 entities were left without electricity in several areas.

The most recent blackouts occurred following the National Energy Control Center (CENACE) reported that the National Electric System went from alert to emergency status.

CENACE declared a state of emergency on May 9 Credit: SAÚL LÓPEZ /CUARTOSCURO.COM

“As of 6:47 p.m. on May 9, an operational state of Emergency is declared in the National Interconnected System, so CENACE will carry out the necessary operational actions,” the agency reported in the followingnoon.

To understand the situation, it must be taken into account that CENACE dictates an average for measuring the reserve indices of the national electrical system. An alert or emergency operating system is declared when said records experience a significant drop.

Specifically, a state of alert is entered if the operating reserve falls below 6%, although this does not necessarily imply an imminent risk for the national electricity supply, allowing the system to continue operating.

However, this condition does not eliminate the risk of possible blackouts. For this reason, the CENACE team focuses on restoring normal operating levels of the electrical system to prevent such interruptions.

The blackouts prior to May 9 were due in both cases to the increase in demand for electrical energy, given the high temperatures recorded. This was confirmed by the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), from his morning press conference.

In recent days there has been an increase in electricity demand, which caused blackouts PHOTO: CRISANTA ESPINOSA AGUILAR /CUARTOSCURO.COM

“Yesterday we were even on the verge of clearing it without a problem and there was also a further increase in temperature and more demand, more than a thousand additional megawatts. On Tuesday, a thousand more, and yesterday a thousand more,” declared the federal president.

On the day that electricity supply problems were reported, last May 7, the National Electric System entered a state of emergency on two occasions due to high demand.

Demand in the electrical system was reduced, allowing the recovery of 200 MW at 5:52 p.m. last Tuesday. This caused the state of emergency to be lifted, leaving the National Interconnected System only on alert.

However, the situation became complicated once more when power generators failed at approximately 6:53 p.m. The growing nighttime demand and the disconnection of electricity triggered another state of emergency at 7:10 p.m.

López Obrador assured that to avoid a similar situation in the future, CENACE works together with the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). The national leader even met with Manuel Bartlett Díaz, director of the CFE, at the National Palace to agree on the measures that will be taken to guarantee Mexicans’ access to electrical energy without interruptions like those of recent days.