MEXICO · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —The country Mexico, a major US trading partner, has the state-owned Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) at the centre of its power grid.
- —Why it matters Factories that ship to US customers, and visitors to beach regions such as Yucatán, depend on how often the lights go out and how fast they return.
- —Why now CFE’s director general presented new reliability figures and its financial results to the company board on Thursday 22 October 2026.
- —What happened CFE says interruptions from January to September were 37% lower than in 2024, and average restoration time fell from 25 hours in 2025 to 7 hours in 2026.
- —The numbers The 37% compares 2026 with 2024, while the August update put the drop against 2025 at only about 10%.
- —What it means for you Plants serving US customers get a benchmark to test locally, and investors can watch which private-capital projects advance next.
- —Still open The September interruption count, how CFE counts large events, and which mixed projects and companies were approved.
- —Power Index Mexico ranks 2nd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 71.4 points (October 2026 edition).
CFE says outages fell 37% from January to September compared with 2024, and its average restoration time dropped from 25 hours in 2025 to 7 hours in 2026. Director General Emilia Esther Calleja Alor gave the figures to the company board on Thursday 22 October 2026.
For US readers the claim matters because Mexican plants supply American customers, and a long outage can stall a production line on both sides of the border. It also matters to investors, because the same board meeting advanced mixed projects that bring private capital into Mexican power generation and storage.
CFE is Mexico’s state-owned power company, which generates, transmits and sells electricity across the country. The figures are CFE’s own, and the sources reviewed show no independent check of them.
CFE Says Outages Fell 37% Against 2024
The 37% cut compares 2026 with 2024, not with last year. In its August update for January to July, CFE counted 273,452 interruptions against 433,345 in the same months of 2024.
Against 2025 the fall was much smaller, about 10% from 302,203 interruptions, according to the same August figures. That update said 27 federal entities recorded fewer failures than in 2024.
The biggest drops against 2024 were in Chiapas at 77%, Aguascalientes at 66% and Querétaro at 62%. Oaxaca fell 56%, Baja California 55% and the State of Mexico 53%.
Average restoration time fell from 25 hours in 2025 to 7 hours in 2026, a cut of 72%. Calleja repeated that figure to the board on 22 October.
The 22 October reports give the same 37% and 72% as the August update, which covered only January to July. The sources reviewed do not publish a September interruption count, so it is unclear whether both periods use the same base.
What CFE Credits for the Improvement
CFE links the results to grid modernisation, supply reliability, its financial performance and coordination with state and local governments. In August it listed more than 7.6 million pruning jobs to keep branches off lines, 377,000 insulation replacements and 287,000 lightning-arrester replacements.
It also counted more than 31,000 pole replacements and maintenance on more than 18,000 transformers. CFE said the 2026 totals in each of these areas were higher than in the previous year.
On 22 October Calleja listed grid works in Querétaro, Baja California, Yucatán, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Tabasco and Sinaloa. Construction has also started on the Playacar–Chankanaab II submarine line, which CFE says will make supply to Cozumel, Quintana Roo, more reliable.
Cozumel is a tourist island off the Yucatán coast. CFE also presented its CFE Conectada Contigo strategy, which it says improves coordination with state governments, municipalities and local business sectors.
Private Money Joins the Grid Plans
The board approved the list of mixed-development projects that can move to the next stage of selection under CFE’s call for strategic power generation and storage projects. CFE says these schemes let private investment and technical capacity join the state utility to meet the country’s energy needs.
The board also approved items on strategic generation, storage and transmission projects in Baja California Sur and Hidalgo. The sources reviewed do not name the companies, the size of the projects or their cost.
Our earlier report, Mexico Eyes US$12.5B Solar and Wind Plan, said the board was expected to vote on a solar and wind batch on 20 October. The 22 October statements do not say whether the approved mixed-project list is that batch.
Our report Mexico Throws Open Its Power Grid to Private Renewables explains how the first round of private schemes worked. Our guide CFE Development Programme Maps Mexico Power Push sets out the utility’s own spending plan.
The Money Behind the Upgrades
CFE said its cumulative revenue reached 332.2 billion pesos (about US$17.8 billion) through the second quarter of 2026. All dollar figures here use the Bank of Mexico rate of 18.7005 pesos per dollar for 22 October 2026.
The company said these indicators show a stronger financial position and the capacity to back its infrastructure projects. La Jornada and Energy21 added that operating profit rose 15.2% and liquidity 17.5%, without saying which period or base those rises refer to.
The 31 August Blackout Still Shapes the Debate
A blackout between Monday 31 August and Tuesday 1 September hit Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Campeche and Chiapas, and El Universal, reporting a complaint by an opposition party, put the number of affected users at 745,533. CFE blamed alleged vandalism of two transmission lines and said service was fully restored early on 1 September.
The opposition party Movimiento Ciudadano, led nationally by Jorge Álvarez Máynez, filed a public complaint with the National Energy Commission. It asked for an independent report on the causes and for a review of a 3 June 2026 blackout that, according to the complaint, hit 579 megawatts of load in Yucatán and Quintana Roo.
CFE’s vandalism explanation is an allegation, and the party’s complaint says it must be proven rigorously. Our earlier report, Mexico Blackouts Hit Yucatán Businesses as CFE Restores Power After ‘Vandalism’, covers that night and the businesses affected.
The sources reviewed do not say whether CFE’s interruption count includes large events such as the 31 August blackout. Many small local cuts and one regional failure affect customers very differently, so the 37% figure does not settle the debate.
What It Means for You
Companies with plants in Mexico that serve US customers can ask their local CFE office whether the 7-hour average applies to their region. The figures are national averages, so a plant in a state with weaker results may still face longer outages.
Travellers in Yucatán, Quintana Roo and Cozumel are most exposed to the kind of outage seen on 31 August. Our Mérida city guide and our guide Mexico 2026 Explained: Population, Politics, US Trade Ties explain the region and the country’s trade links.
Investors in Mexican power should watch which mixed projects reach the next stage and which private companies take part. Our analysis Who Dominates Mexico, Elites and Regions Explained shows who holds influence over the sector.
What Is Not Known
CFE’s own bulletin could not be opened for this article because its website did not load through our connection. The figures rest on La Jornada, Contralinéa and Energy21, which carry the company’s statement and agree on the headline numbers, and on the August update as reported by La Jornada and Excélsior.
The September interruption count, the exact base for the 37% and the method CFE uses to count interruptions are not in the sources. It is also not known which mixed projects were approved, how large they are and which companies are behind them.
CFE says outages fell, yet no independent audit of the reliability figures was found, and the 31 August blackout shows that large failures can still happen. The next CFE update should show whether the 7-hour average holds into 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did CFE say about power outages on 22 October?
CFE said interruptions from January to September were 37% lower than in 2024. It also said average restoration time fell from 25 hours in 2025 to 7 hours in 2026.
Is the 37% drop measured against last year?
No, it is measured against 2024. In its August update for January to July, CFE put the drop against 2025 at about 10%.
Which states saw the biggest drops?
In the August update CFE named Chiapas at 77%, Aguascalientes at 66% and Querétaro at 62%. Oaxaca, Baja California and the State of Mexico also fell by more than 50%.
What else did the CFE board approve?
It approved a list of mixed-development projects that can advance in CFE’s selection process for generation and storage. It also approved items for projects in Baja California Sur and Hidalgo.
Does the 37% include the 31 August blackout?
CFE says outages fell overall, but the sources reviewed do not say how it counts large events. The blackout hit Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Campeche and Chiapas, and CFE blamed alleged vandalism.
What does it mean for US readers?
Plants and investors tied to Mexican power get a benchmark to test, not a guarantee. Travellers to Yucatán and Cozumel should note that regional outages have still occurred.
Sources: Contralínea, 22 October 2026; La Jornada, 22 October 2026; Energy21, 23 October 2026; La Jornada, 18 August 2026; Excélsior, August 2026; El Universal, September 2026; La Silla Rota, 1 September 2026; Bank of Mexico exchange rate (FIX), 22 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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