President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that his government is committed to building two new power plants in Yucatán.
One of the power plants is planned for Mérida, while the other is slated for Valladolid — though the exact locations of neither have been disclosed.
The Presidents remarks came during his visit to Mérida during which he preceded the inauguration of the Tianguis Turístico Mexico, Mexico’s largest tourism trade show.
“Access to reliable energy is and always has been a priority for my administrations. These two new powerplants will help us address the growing energy needs of the entire Yucatán Peninsula,” said the president.
Since assuming the office of president in 2018, López Obrador has been steadfast in his support of state-owned power companies including the CFE and PEMEX.
Earlier: CFE’s ‘scheduled’ power cuts hit Yucatán without warning
Recent modifications to Mexico’s energy sector rulebook now heavily favor state-owned power companies by making it harder for private firms to sell energy to industry and consumers.
In several parts of Mérida such as García Ginerés and Ciudad Caucel, power outages have become increasingly common over the past couple of years.
Power outages are also tough on business owners who are often forced to turn customers away or close up shop early.
But many of Mexico’s biggest companies including Bimbo and Telcel say that they have begun to move away from the CFE in favor of greener alternatives.
Business leaders say that the decision is motivated by a desire to reduce their carbon footprint while saving money.
In recent years Yucatán has seen a boom in green energy initiatives, especially when it comes to wind and solar power.
