There will be no blackouts: CFE will reinforce the transmission network in the Yucatan peninsula

The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) reports that it will strengthen the transmission network in the Yucatan Peninsula. The work will increase the transfer of electricity from the southeast of the country to the benefit of 1.9 million customers. It is estimated that it enters into operation in two years and has an approximate investment of 2 billion pesos.

At a press conference, Noé Peña Silva, General Director of Subsidiary Company CFE Transmisión, pointed out that the alternate route will be located between Malpaso, Chiapas, and Ticul, Yucatán. This project will help meet the growing demand for electricity and avoid interruptions in the supply of electricity in the region.

It should be noted that the Peninsular System was interconnected with the National Electric Network in 1988 and for 1997 it was reinforced with 400 kV. Currently the CFE has more than 100 thousand kilometers of lines, more than 330 thousand transmission and subtransmission towers, and more than 2 thousand power substations nationwide.

During the press conference Manuel Bartlett Díaz, General Director of the Federal Electricity Commission, pointed out that the National Transmission Network in Mexico is one of the largest in the world and it is a good that, even through the Energy Reform, maintains strictly as the exclusive property of the State.

In that sense, Guillermo Nevárez Elizondo, General Director of Subsidiary Company CFE Distribución, highlighted the commitment of the CFE to have a robust National Interconnected System, whose response to any eventuality is directed to the client, with no other interest than to restore the service, under high safety, quality and continuity standards.

He also acknowledged the joint work of Bartlett Díaz and Víctor Fuentes del Villar, General Secretary of the Single Union of Electrical Workers of the Mexican Republic (SUTERM), in leading the nearly 60,000 workers in the Transmission and Distribution areas, and that serve more than 43.8 million clients in the Mexican Republic.

During his speech, José Manuel Muñoz Villalobos, Deputy Director of Non-Regulated Businesses, pointed out that the installed generation capacity in the Yucatan Peninsula is sufficient to sustain the consumption of the region. In addition, he said, there is interconnection to the rest of the country through the transmission networks, so shortages and blackouts, are not in sight.

For his part, Alfonso Morcos Flores, General Director of the National Center for Energy Control (CENACE), emphasized that the instructions for dispatching power will always give priority to the reliability of the network. He added that CENACE works in coordination with all entities of the CFE, coordinates all the actions of generation dispatch, the maneuvers in the transmission network and also operates the Wholesale Electricity Market.

As an express question, Bartlett Díaz assured that the next members of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) will not be instruments for situations contrary to the national interest. He noted that currently the CRE instructs the CFE to invest in the maintenance of the network, which is complicated by not having an adequate transport rate.

He also reiterated that the issue of the use of coal for power generation has been magnified, but rejected that the CFE be inclined towards the generation of coal. He said that the Federal Electricity Commission has all types of generation and drives clean energy to maintain a balance in generation.

During his participation, Carlos Morales Mar, Corporate Director of Operations, pointed out that the use of coal in the generation of electricity is not increasing, on the contrary, he pointed out that coal purchases were reduced by 20% between 2012 and 2019.

The press conference, convened by Manuel Bartlett Díaz, General Director of the Federal Electricity Commission, was moderated by Luis Bravo Navarro, Corporate Communication Coordinator of the CFE.

This CFE release was published using machine translation.