Holbox, Q.R. — New submarine electric power lines will be installed for the islands of Holbox, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres. On Monday, Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa met with the General Director of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), Manuel Bartlett Díaz.
After their afternoon meeting, Lezama Espinosa announced their agreement that will see the lines installed for the state’s islands. In her statement, the Governor said the cables will be installed to meet the demands of island residents who often deal with power blackouts.
For these projects, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) allocated a piece of land in the Federal Maritime-Terrestrial Zone from Chiquilá and in the Holbox estuary for the installation of the new energy network located on Boulevard Costero, Chiquilá.
In this community, the CFE will install a “type X registry” for high-voltage cables.
In Cozumel, the current electric network is nearing its lifetime as well as operating at its maximum capacity.
“If this is not addressed, there could be serious damage to the electricity supply throughout the island,” said Mara Lezama. According to projections, the current transmission infrastructure to the island will not be enough to cover the maximum demand.
The Cozumel project consists of the construction of approximately 25 km-c of 115 kV power cable: 25 km-c of submarine/underground cable and 2.5 km-c of underground cable.
Additionally, in the Cozumel network there is a Turbogas-type Power Plant that allows supplying part of the demand in emergency conditions in the complete network, as well as in the event of a submarine cable contingency. Cozumel’s internal network is fed by two 34.5 kV (kilovolt) radial circuits that start from the Playa del Carmen Substation.
These proposals join the one for Isla Mujeres, which is about to start with the installation of a new submarine from the mainland to the island.