The government indicated on Thursday that several regions of Mexico, including the capital Mexico City and its nine million inhabitants, experienced intermittent power outages due to surging consumption amid the heatwave. Temperatures reached up to 48°C.
Outages were reported in Mexico City, the neighboring State of Mexico, as well as in Michoacán (west), Tamaulipas (northwest), and Campeche (southeast).
The National Water Commission reported “maximum temperatures of 48 degrees and above in the regions of San Luis Potosi (northeast) and Tamaulipas.”
In April, temperatures in Mexico City reached 34.2°C, surpassing the previous record of 33.9°C set in 1998, according to Conagua. Rationing also occurred in Costa Rica and Ecuador.
“There was a demand greater than the capacity produced,” acknowledged Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday. During his term, he initiated an energy reform to strengthen the role of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE, public) in total production.
Costa Rica and Ecuador also announced electricity rationing. The heatwave in Mexico led to decreased water levels in several dams across the country.