Nuevo Leon, the largest industrial economy in Mexico, is already experiencing negative effects from unexpected power cuts, costing more than $14,000 per hour to the manufacturing companies of the state, published the newspaper El Norte.
"The blackouts and intermittencies in the electricity supply due to the heat wave cost MXN 250,000 pesos ($14,200, at today's exchange rate) per hour on average to companies from various sectors," the newspaper reported, citing the general director of the Association of Maquiladoras and Export Manufacturers of Nuevo Leon (better known as Index Nuevo Leon), Zelina Fernandez
This business association brings together companies covered by the government's Program for the Manufacturing, Maquiladora and Export Services Industry (IMMEX) such as the automotive industry.
In Nuevo Leon, as throughout the country, the industrial sector suffers the negative effects of the lack of investment in infrastructure by the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission, the monopoly entity for energy generation and distribution in the country.
Given the high temperatures in the country, the demand for electrical energy is very close to generation, with a surplus margin of 6.0 percent, a figure that contrasts with the optimal level that must be at least 20 percent.
According to Fernandez, blackouts cause delays in production processes and damage production machinery and equipment. This breaks some supply chains just in time.