According to reports, over half a million Mexicans have no electricity amid the pandemic .
During the third and most critical stage of the pandemic , Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) discontinued the electric service because 543,128 people were unable to pay their bills between April and May 12.
The measures have affected homes, businesses, and industries in Mexico City and the state of Mexico, areas considered as the center of the pandemic.
The CFE revealed that users in Jalisco, Michoacán, Puebla, Guerrero , and other states were the most affected by power cuts in the last 42 days. The problem was exacerbated by isolation and physical distancing measures implemented in a bid to halt the spread of COVID-19 .
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CFE director Manuel Bartlett had warned no debts would be condoned because the government has payments to fulfill, as the salary of 90,000 workers and the purchase of fuel for the electricity network.
However, the situation is not as simple: a large number of clients couldn’t pay their bills because they didn’t have money.
In April, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the CFE discontinued the service to 416,505 users throughout the country. Nevertheless, the majority of the cases were registered in the state of Mexico and Mexico City.
Until May 12, at least 126,623 users had no electricity services throughout the country. The majority of cases were registered in Jalisco, the state of Mexico, and Mexico City.
In 2020, the CFE discontinued electricity services to 2,088,409 users after they failed to pay their bills.
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