CFE Submarine Cable to Boost Power Supply in Playa del Carmen and Cozumel

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A planned underwater power cable being built by the CFE (Federal Electricity Commission) will strengthen electricity supply in Playa del Carmen as well as feed Cozumel, a municipal public works official said.

Edgar Zapata, the city’s undersecretary of public works, said the first phase of the project focuses on reinforcing the electrical infrastructure on the mainland. Crews will bolster the power feed into Playa del Carmen through cabling linked to the CFE’s supply plants, he said.

That infrastructure will later allow the utility to share electricity with Cozumel through the line that will run beneath the sea floor.

Work Starts in January 2027

Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2027, a timing chosen to avoid disruptions during the December holiday season, Zapata said. Part of the work will take place around Playa 88, one of the sites along the project’s route.

For the land segment, crews will use a technique that pushes pipe and cable through the ground between separated access points rather than cutting a continuous trench along the entire route. Zapata said the line could enter through one utility vault and emerge roughly a kilometer away.

The method is intended to reduce the amount of excavation and the disruption caused during installation, according to the undersecretary. Even so, the project will still require targeted work on land before crews move on to the underwater connection to the island.