In the country, there are still 16 hydroelectric projects to be inaugurated that began during the administration of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Among these are those of Portezuelos I and II, as well as Mazatepec in the state of Puebla. The director of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), Emilia Calleja Alor, reported that the first of these plants will be operational in March of this year, while the Mazatepec plant will be completed in November 2026.
It should be remembered that López Obrador promised that the Mazatepec project would be completed before he left the presidency. By November 2023, approximately 333.6 million dollars had already been invested to increase the energy generation capacity. However, the work was not completed within the established deadline.
During the morning conference led by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, Calleja Alor presented the CFE expansion plan for the current administration, which includes 51 projects aimed at generating an additional 29 thousand megawatts in the country. This effort seeks to increase the production of clean energy.
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The director explained that, of the 16 projects pending inauguration, the majority were started during the López Obrador administration. These include three hydroelectric plants in Sinaloa, which will be ready this year. In Michoacán, two projects will be completed in 2025; in Guerrero, one more will be operational in December 2024. In Chiapas, four hydroelectric plants will be completed between 2026 and 2027, while in Hidalgo one was completed in October 2024, awaiting only the inauguration.
In Veracruz, the El Encanto hydroelectric plant will be completed in April 2025, and the Minas plant in February of next year. In Puebla, the Mazatepec project will be completed in November 2026, while Portezuelos I and II are expected to be inaugurated in March 2025.
In total, these hydroelectric projects require an investment of 1,553 million dollars. Calleja Alor pointed out that Portezuelos in Puebla will be inaugurated in 2025, El Encanto in Veracruz in April and the Minas plant in February, which will represent an addition of 535.6 megawatts to the national capacity.
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The official clarified that the expansion of capacity is not due to the use of more water, but to the optimization of the process, using the same dams and infrastructure. She assured that all the necessary equipment is already installed and operational, with the exception of the Chiapas project, which is planned for 2027. This is because the company that won the tender has opted for a phased approach. “These projects are being closely monitored by the technical team to ensure that the established deadlines are met,” she concluded.
Source: oem
