AI data centers strain Mexico's power grid with 1,730 MW

AI data centers in Mexico already run cabinets of up to 100 kilowatts (kW), compared with the 5 to 10 kW of conventional racks, a density that reshapes power supply, backup and cooling. Specialists gathered at ALPE Summit 2026, on October 27, 2026 in Mexico City, noted that computing capacity is advancing faster than the infrastructure that feeds it, according to Global Energy.

The pressure is already measured in power. A Banamex analysis released on October 14, 2026 estimates that installed capacity in IT equipment will rise from 279 megawatts (MW) to 1,730 MW by 2031, with 205 MW more under construction during 2026. Consumption would reach 18.2 terawatt hours (TWh) per year with cooling included, equivalent to nearly 6% of final electricity consumption in 2025. Querétaro concentrates almost three quarters of national capacity and would go from about 200 MW to more than 1,300 MW; that increase represents 72% of the state's 2025 peak demand.

On the grid side, Expansión reported on September 10, 2026 that the Centro Nacional de Control de Energía (CENACE) has accumulated 7 gigawatts (GW) of connection requests, of which between 1.5 and 2 GW correspond to data centers, that is, 21% to 29% of the total; a large-scale data center consumes between 200 and 250 MW. Density is also reshaping internal design: Vertiv reports applications of 100 kW per cabinet in Mexico and is working on designs of up to 1 MW per rack toward 2028, Huawei Digital Power integrates power trains of up to 2.4 MW and ABB presented modular panels of up to 1,250 amps with 40% less assembly time, according to Global Energy.

The next checkpoint is transmission work. El Financiero reported on October 31, 2026 that the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) seeks to raise close to 1,000 million dollars with a CFE Capital share offering in November, funds earmarked for new transmission lines within a program that envisions expanding the grid by about 7% in this administration. The timing of that placement and the progress of the connections authorized by CENACE are the indicators to watch.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.