I recently started thinking about something that sounds almost like a cyberpunk movie: blackouts in Mexico. It’s not science fiction; it’s the reality we live in. For years, CFE has left us without power at moments that seem straight out of a dystopian script.

I remember the 2003 incident in the Yucatán Peninsula. A lightning strike hit Ticul, leaving 4.5 million people in the dark for 6 hours. Imagine that: millions without energy, cities paralyzed. Then there was the Monterrey blackout in 2018, when 100 km/h winds knocked down trees onto power lines, leaving more than 330,000 residents without electricity.

But the one that truly marked us was in December 2020. That was truly apocalyptic: over 10 million users without power across 12 states, including Mexico City. An imbalance in the National Interconnected System led us to a scenario that looked pure cyberpunk. Then came the February 2021 blackout, when extreme cold in Texas affected gas supplies and left Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas without energy for hours.

More recently, in May 2024, Cenace declared an emergency due to electricity demand. Consumption exceeded 52,000 megawatts, and rolling blackouts occurred in several regions. It’s as if Mexico is living that cyberpunk reality where resources run out and everything collapses.

Now that we’re in 2026, the inevitable question is: will it happen again? CFE hasn’t announced scheduled nationwide outages, but experts warn that during hot seasons, demand can surpass installed capacity. So if you’re planning something important, it’s best to have rechargeable lamps and surge protectors for your devices.

This ongoing reality of constant blackouts has become part of our daily life. Some remember these events as moments that paralyzed their cities; others as crises that affected their businesses. The truth is, in Mexico, blackouts are no longer exceptions—they’ve become part of the urban experience. What do you remember about any of these? Surely there’s a story behind it.