Riviera Maya, Q.R. — The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) says they are facing increasing operational challenges due to rapid urban development and acts of vandalism. Dan Abimael Barragán Núñez, the Regional Superintendent of the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) says coverage extends from Tulum to Cancun. Across that region there are areas of frequent outages due to irregular connections and vandalism to the electrical infrastructure.
According to Barragán Núñez, one of the most noted areas are the invasion neighborhoods where they frequently encounter unauthorized tampering with electrical networks.
He says that tampering not only causes interruptions, but also poses risks to technical personnel who arrive to make repairs to the altered wiring. Theft and vandalism of electrical registers have also been found, mostly in the low and medium-voltage networks.
Other networks, such as the underground systems, also experience vandalism. He explained that while underground wiring significantly reduces issues during storms and is more stable to restore during a power outage, it is also more vulnerable to illegal acts such as vandalism and theft.
He reported that despite the issues, the CFE has sufficient capacity to meet the growing electrical demand of approximately 18 percent annually.
Numerous areas of Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen have begun the exchange of overhead wiring for an underground system. On June 14, a large area in west Playa del Carmen remained without electricity for nearly 40 hours.
After 24 hours of working to restore electricity, the CFE reported intentional vandalism as the cause for the extensive power outage.
