On Friday, September 26, 2025, life across Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula ground to a halt when a massive blackout struck just after 2:00 p.m., plunging over two million people into darkness and disrupting daily routines in the states of Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo. The sudden outage, triggered by a fault in a high-voltage electricity transmission line, rippled through the region, affecting bustling cities, sleepy towns, and the world-famous resort destination of Cancún.
According to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), the incident began at 2:19 p.m. Central Time, when maintenance work on the 400 kV LT ESA A3Q20 / A3Q30 TIC lines caused an electrical failure. This malfunction knocked nine power plants offline, taking 16 generating units out of service and leaving 2,262,000 users without electricity. The impact was immediate and sweeping: traffic lights failed, businesses shuttered, and daily commerce was thrown into disarray. As reported by AFP, “traffic lights stopped working and there was chaos. Gas stations and businesses that had generators stayed open, but other businesses had to close because they could not process payments.”
President Claudia Sheinbaum, who was quick to address the crisis on social media, explained, “A fault in an electricity transmission line in the southeast caused a blackout in Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo. CFE informs me they are working to restore service in the three states. I will continue reporting.” Her updates, echoed by the Ministry of Energy and local officials like Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama, helped reassure the public that efforts were underway to resolve the outage.
Energy Secretary Luz Elena González Escobar later clarified that the blackout was an unintended consequence of ongoing maintenance work, which unexpectedly affected nine power plants. The National Energy Control Center (CENACE) and CFE crews sprang into action, working in tandem to bring the grid back online as quickly as possible. By 4:10 p.m., engineers had restored power to critical 230 kV and 400 kV lines, lighting up major cities such as Mérida, Valladolid, Cancún, Ciudad del Carmen, and Chetumal.
The restoration process unfolded in phases. Official CFE reports detailed the progress: 16% of affected users saw their service restored within 57 minutes, 26.5% within 2 hours and 40 minutes, 48% within 3 hours and 41 minutes, and 63% within 4 hours and 41 minutes. Complete restoration for all 2,276,000 affected users across the peninsula was achieved in just over six hours, by the evening of September 26. The CFE stated, “With immediate actions, [we] executed strategic maneuvers and remote control for the rapid restoration of electricity supply, in coordination with the Ministry of Energy and the National Energy Control Center in the Yucatan Peninsula, due to the failure that occurred in high-voltage lines at 2:19 p.m., which took nine power plants in the Southeast out of operation with 16 units.”
Despite the impressive speed of the response, the outage exposed vulnerabilities in the region’s infrastructure and highlighted stark differences in how residents and visitors experienced the blackout. In Mérida, the capital of Yucatán, the loss of power to traffic signals led to significant traffic jams. Some neighborhoods reported telephone service interruptions lasting more than two hours, while businesses without backup generators were forced to close their doors, unable to process electronic payments or provide basic services. Interestingly, authorities received no reports of disruptions to hospitals or the supply of drinking water—a small mercy amid the chaos.
For tourists flocking to Cancún and the Riviera Maya, the experience depended heavily on where they were staying. The Cancun Sun reported that most guests in the city’s famed Hotel Zone barely noticed the outage. Major resorts, well-versed in hurricane preparedness and keen to protect their reputation, have invested millions in high-capacity backup generators that kick in within seconds of a power loss. As a result, “the lights, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, restaurant service, and poolside music continued with little to no interruption,” the outlet noted. The robust infrastructure of these resorts insulated visitors from the sweltering heat and potential discomforts of a blackout.
However, the story was quite different for those lodged in independent accommodations—Airbnbs, smaller guesthouses, or local neighborhoods outside the tourist “bubble.” For these travelers, the blackout meant no air conditioning in the tropical heat, no Wi-Fi, and sometimes no hot water. It also forced a temporary return to a cash-only economy, as ATMs and credit card machines became useless. The lesson? Always be prepared. Travel experts recommend carrying a charged power bank, keeping a small stash of pesos, downloading offline maps, and asking hosts about backup power options before booking non-resort stays.
As power flickered back on across the peninsula, President Sheinbaum and CFE officials continued to provide updates and reassurances. By Friday night, the CFE declared, “This has restored 100% service to the 2,276,000 users in the states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo. We will conduct the necessary technical analysis to determine the root cause and prevent recurrence of such events, in order to comply with the instructions of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and inform the public accordingly.” The agency reaffirmed its commitment to restoring power swiftly during emergencies, emphasizing the safety of both its staff and the public.
For many, the blackout served as a stark reminder of the region’s reliance on a complex and sometimes fragile energy infrastructure. While the rapid restoration was commendable, questions linger about what steps will be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. The CFE has pledged a thorough technical review to identify the root cause and implement safeguards against recurrence. The Ministry of Energy is also monitoring the situation closely, eager to ensure that lessons are learned and applied.
This wasn’t the first time the Yucatán Peninsula faced a large-scale outage. In June 2022, an accident during maintenance left 1.3 million people without power for nearly two hours—a smaller but still significant disruption. The recurrence of such incidents underscores the need for robust contingency planning and continual investment in grid resilience, especially in a region so vital to Mexico’s tourism economy.
In the end, the September 26 blackout was a test of both infrastructure and community resolve. While the lights are back on and life has returned to normal, the experience has left residents, businesses, and travelers with a renewed appreciation for the unseen systems that keep modern life humming—and a few practical lessons for the next unexpected interruption.
