CFE and Playa del Carmen to Review Plan for Submarine Power Line to Cozumel

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The CFE (Federal Electricity Commission) has formally asked the Playa del Carmen municipal government to authorize work on a submarine transmission line that will run to the Chankanaab substation on Cozumel, officials said.

Hernán González De los Santos, the city’s secretary of territorial planning, said the utility delivered the request on Friday and that municipal technicians will review the route and the scope of the work before the city grants its approval.

He said the project was originally designed to start at the Playacar substation, run to Playa 88 and then cross to Cozumel. The CFE is now also considering reversing the route, beginning on the island and coming ashore at Playa 88, he added.

González De los Santos said his department, together with the infrastructure and public works department, is responsible for reviewing permits and timelines, determining how the work will be carried out and later ensuring that affected areas — especially the streets that will be opened — are properly restored.

Officials do not yet know how long construction will take, but the secretary said Playa 88 will not be closed entirely, as had initially been considered.

The CFE awarded the contract to three companies, which will handle design, construction, equipment, installation and operation, with an investment of 3,563,683,589 pesos. The project includes one station, four substations, two transmission lines, one distribution line and a 19.31-kilometer underground network. It is tentatively scheduled for completion in February 2028.

González De los Santos said the city could attach conditions to the permits, requiring the CFE to repair damaged utility registers and poles that have been flagged repeatedly during working-group meetings with authorities and telephone and cable television providers. He said similar requests have been made before, with only partial results.

He noted that the CFE did not take part in the last two working-group meetings, which he said is a concern, though he expressed hope that relations will improve and that the utility will commit to the city.