A blackout that affects at least 400,000 users was registered this Monday morning in the states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Chihuahua due to the lack of natural gas for electricity generation, reported the National Center for Energy Control (Cenace).
“There was an imbalance between load and generation in the north and northeast of the country, affecting approximately 6,950 MegaWatts (MW) of load,” said the operator of the National Electric System in a message on Twitter.
This is not the first massive blackout so far this year, but it is the one that occurs when much of that region is under extreme weather conditions.
From his morning conference, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador indicated that the blackout affects 400,000 users and that the problem, caused by bad weather, is being addressed.
Cenace also attributed the blackout to the effects of cold front number 35.
The low temperatures have affected the infrastructure of US gas pipelines in Texas and Arizona mainly, which has triggered fuel prices due to its low availability and, therefore, exports to Mexico.
Given this situation, 2.6 million users in Texas also face power outages.
On the night of Saturday, February 13, Cenace, led by Carlos Meléndez Román, declared an alert in the operating state of the system due to the lack of gas.
Pandas from Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute enjoy the snow that has fallen in Washington.
The electricity operator asked the population of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Chihuahua to reduce the use and consumption of non-priority electricity.
“This weather event requires that the infrastructure of the National Electric System be safeguarded with the help of all its users to minimize risks of interruptions or major damage,” he said.