Playa del Carmen Power Outage Halts Business Activity

Playa del Carmen, Mexico — A power outage from the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) paralyzed activities for businesses, restaurants, and private sector offices in the Ejidal neighborhood. Those affected are demanding the federal government invest in electrical infrastructure to prevent damages.

In light of this ongoing situation, the business sector is uniting in an integral effort to seek alternatives. "The CFE has not invested in infrastructure for the electrical networks to guarantee service, and these blackouts impact everyone; commercial activities are paralyzed," said engineer Ramón Cárdenas González, president of the Business Coordinating Council of the Riviera Maya. "Playa del Carmen is a destination that cannot fail its tourists."

The blackout, which was recorded in a sector of the Ejidal neighborhood, impacted businesses and private sector offices. The outage lasted half an hour, but "people feel that psychosis and sensation of another mega blackout," he commented.

The engineer stated that with today's advanced technology, there should be a consideration for solar panels, which are cheaper and have better energy production. "We must have energy self-sufficiency, we cannot keep waiting and feeling the impacts of the blackouts. We are a tourist destination on which we all depend economically, and these problems that have been occurring impact Playa del Carmen because activities are paralyzed," he referred.

In that context, engineer Cárdenas González insists on the need for an energy production plant in Quintana Roo. "There are other states that have one for any emergency, like Valladolid, which has its own."

For his part, merchant Pedro Velázquez Dzib commented that he was at his job when the power went out. "For a few moments I thought it was another mega blackout, you never know with the CFE, which has constant blackouts, but it only lasted half an hour." He added, "In recent years we have been affected by the constant blackouts; the serious thing is that those surges damage household appliances. Despite that, we have to pay for the electric supply service and the CFE does not help us."

Merchant Alonso Juárez Pérez commented that since the start of the Maya Train construction, the blackouts have become more complicated. This is in addition to the irregular settlements; "that people has tapped into the high-tension lines to obtain the electric supply and they do not pay for the service, and on top of that, the CFE has not invested in infrastructure to guarantee the supply."