Mexico would have natural gas for about three days if imports were cut off, Cenagas director warns
Seventy-five percent of the gas Mexico uses comes from the United States, and it fuels about 60% of the country's electricity. A cut of roughly one-fifth was announced a week ago and was handled without problems, the official said.
Mexico has no natural gas storage and, in the event of a total cutoff of imports, could keep supply going for up to about three days, warned Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, director general of the National Natural Gas Control Center (Cenagas), during the presidential press conference on Wednesday, October 7, according to the official transcript published by the Office of the President.
"We don't have storage, but through these strategies we can manage, and therefore we could have up to three days if there were a cutoff," the official said. That margin comes from the gas kept inside the roughly 21,000 kilometers of pipelines in the national system.
Why it matters
According to García Jiménez, 75% of the natural gas consumed in Mexico comes from the United States, and this fuel is used to generate between 60% and 62% of the country's electricity. In other words, the power reaching homes and businesses depends heavily on that supply.
The Cenagas director said that a week earlier the United States had notified Mexico it would stop sending about one-fifth of the imported gas fed into the national pipelines. According to his account, the situation was handled "without problems" thanks to coordination among Pemex, CFE and other agencies. No impact on electricity supply or users was reported at the conference.
Planned investments
At the same conference, officials said that by 2030 CFE will invest 53 billion pesos in gas infrastructure and Cenagas 87 billion pesos, as part of an energy sector plan of about 1.17 trillion pesos.
Energy Secretary Luz Elena González Escobar listed among the projects the Cuxtal pipeline, which will supply gas to the Yucatán Peninsula from Tabasco.
What it means for Cancún
The Yucatán Peninsula, including Quintana Roo, receives gas for its power plants through the national pipeline network, so projects like Cuxtal are directly tied to the reliability of the region's electricity service. For now, authorities have not announced any measures or restrictions for users.
If there is a blackout in your neighborhood, the official channel to report it is CFE: call 071, use the CFE Contigo app or its website, and have your service number handy (it is on your bill). During extended outages, it is a good idea to unplug sensitive appliances to protect them from voltage swings when power returns.
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