Isla Mujeres, Q.R. — What was scheduled to be an eight-hour power outage for maintenance ended up being 13 hours. Islanders found themselves without electricity for half a day when CFE extended the repair schedule by five hours.
On Wednesday, the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) performed grid maintenance, leaving the island without electricity. While cell service was also down, many business owners were forced to close.
Others that remained open during the scheduled power cut said customers came in and simply left due to the stifling heat inside buildings. “We’re suffering a lot from the heat. Many customers left because we could not run fans,” said local merchant Irma Maldonado.
Reports of disruptions included closed merchant businesses, gas stations, eateries and some schools. Classes at the Colegio de Bachilleres were suspended and several government offices shut due to the lack of electricity.
According to CFE, personnel replaced damaged poles and renewed power lines as well as new transformers. Another project during the power cut included the installation of power lines at the Navy’s regional specialty hospital.
Electricity was gradually restored shortly after 8:00 p.m. that night.
