Playa del Carmen Plans Substation Investment to Reduce Power Outages

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Playa del Carmen’s municipal government will join the CFE (Federal Electricity Commission), the state government and housing developers on a project to strengthen the local power grid and reduce recurring blackouts.

Mayor Estefanía Mercado Asencio acknowledged that the city’s electrical infrastructure has been overwhelmed by rapid growth. “The reality is that we are overwhelmed and we cannot deny reality,” she said.

Mercado said she met with Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa and CFE representatives, and they agreed to roll out specific measures in each municipality of Quintana Roo, focusing on areas with the worst supply problems.

In Playa del Carmen, one of the main proposals involves building and reinforcing electrical substations, with private companies and housing developers to be brought into the working groups.

The mayor said the city will also present its own project. On Monday she met with Guillermo Pedrero, the CFE superintendent in Playa del Carmen, to advance the plan.

“We had a working meeting with the CFE, with developers and with all the players involved in Playa del Carmen’s growth,” Mercado said. “We need everyone to solve the blackout problem at its root.”

She said the goal is to complete the necessary works and measures by the end of the year, significantly reducing power interruptions.

The investment amount will be announced later by Governor Lezama, once the projects and priority areas are defined, Mercado said.

The CFE will identify where the electrical infrastructure needs to be expanded or modernized, after which municipal, state and federal governments will coordinate efforts and resources.

“We need to know where the most affected areas are and, from there, work together,” she said. “The city government is willing to participate so we can guarantee a better service for the families of Playa del Carmen.”

The strategy is designed to keep pace with the city’s residential and urban growth and prepare for rising electricity demand from new real estate and tourism projects. Through the working groups, authorities aim to establish an investment roadmap that improves distribution capacity and reduces outages affecting several parts of Playa del Carmen.