Mexico's Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) said on 2026-08-31 that the disconnection of two transmission lines caused partial power outages for users in Yucatan, Quintana Roo, and Chiapas. ^[1] The blackout affected approximately 10 million people across the states of Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Campeche, and Chiapas, as well as parts of the neighboring country of Belize. ^[2] The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) reported that electricity service was restored to four southeastern Mexican states after a seven-hour blackout beginning Monday evening. ^[3] CFE announced on 2026-08-18 that power outages in the first seven months of 2026 fell 37% compared to the same period in 2024, with 273,452 interruptions versus 433,345. ^[4] CFE stated that specialized staff are working to restore service and that it has communicated with the governments of the three affected states. ^[5] In April 2026, the former general director of Mexico's National Center for Energy Control (CENACE) told El Financiero that the country would break a record for electricity demand in summer 2026, and that the Yucatan peninsula is a critical point, with 150 megawatts of emergency generation from portable CFE plants being moved there. ^[6] CFE stated that the blackout was caused by vandalism that damaged two high-voltage lines, specifically the insulation strings on 400 kV transmission structures. ^[7] The outage crippled commercial activities in Mérida, a city of nearly 1 million people, leaving hundreds of businesses unable to process electronic payments or operate refrigeration systems. ^[8] During Manuel Bartlett's administration from 2018 to 2024, the state-owned CFE failed to complete 74% of its proposed projects. ^[9] Manuel Bartlett took over CFE with a utility reporting profits exceeding 60,000 million pesos but left the company with losses of 124,444 million pesos and a debt of 490,000 million pesos. ^[10] Manuel Bartlett, who directed CFE between 2018 and 2024, cancelled the Malpaso-Playa del Carmen transmission line project and failed to properly plan peninsula projects. ^[11] On the night of August 31, 2026, a power outage affected four states in Mexico's southeast region: Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán. ^[12]