Tulum, Q.R. — Three irregular settlements in Tulum will be the first to participate in a Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) pilot project. Residents in the communities of Tumben Kiin, Nassin and Arrecifes have agreed with CFE to join the project that will see legally established power in their neighborhoods.
The power project proposes a collective metering model using micro-meters with the goal of distributing consumption equitably among families that currently lack individual contracts or formal electricity infrastructure.
The project is being carried out in coordination with the Comité Étnico Pluricultural and Tulum City Council.
Atilano Arana Rejón, President of the Pluricultural Ethnic Committee, explained that the proposed plan includes installing a central meter per transformer that will record the total energy consumption in each neighborhood. This consumption will be divided proportionally among the connected families.
“If a meter reads 1,000 pesos of power consumption and there are 10 families, each will pay 100 pesos. If only 800 pesos are consumed, the cost will be adjusted among all. The idea is for the payment to be fair and shared,” Arana explained.
Arana Rejón reiterated the committee’s commitment to collaborating with the CFE and the City Council to advance territorial planning and guarantee basic services in vulnerable communities.
“Tulum cannot continue to be divided between the regular and the irregular. It’s time to guarantee formal access to public services with order and transparency,” he said.
According to Johny Monsreal, Tulum City Council General Secretary, 14 irregular settlements have currently been identified with an estimated 2,760 informal connections distributed across 46 transformers, each connected to approximately 60 homes.
Monsreal said the CFE has already sent two technical supervisors to talk with residents and begin planning the program, which represents a concrete opportunity for energy justice for hundreds of families currently connected irregularly.
“From the City Council, we will provide close monitoring and facilitate the necessary coordination so that this program moves forward in an orderly and transparent manner,” he said.
The pilot project will last three years. If the results are positive, the plan will expand to other irregular neighborhoods north and south of Tulum.
The irregular settlements of Sacbé, Yax Balam, Arrecife 2, San Miguelito, Lakin, 2 de Octubre and La Reserva, among others, are also part of the Pluricultural Ethnic Committee, which represents the 14 irregular settlements in the municipality.
