CFE and Guanajuato Coordinate 13 Billion Pesos to Modernize the Bajío Power Grid

Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and the government of Guanajuato unveiled a strategy on August 22 to modernize the state's power grid, with an investment exceeding 13 billion pesos within the state utility's Expansion Plan, as reported by Infobae.

The session was led by Governor Libia Dennise García Muñoz Ledo and CFE Director General Emilia Esther Calleja Alor, before 39 municipal presidents from across the state. The investment responds to rising demand in the Bajío, an industrial corridor tied to U.S. supply chains: Guanajuato accounts for 2.4 million of the 5.1 million customers in CFE's Bajío Division, according to Milenio. At Guanajuato Puerto Interior, a high-activity industrial zone, the company will monitor new infrastructure requirements ahead of upcoming expansions, according to Infobae.

Headline projects include modernization works in San José Iturbide, Irapuato, León, and Guanajuato Puerto Interior, the renovation of León's downtown underground network, and a smart power grid spanning roughly 946 kilometers of fiber optic for monitoring and automation, as detailed by El Economista. For 2026, CFE plans to execute 396 million pesos in distribution works, including a new substation in León and expansions in Irapuato, according to AM. On the generation side, the company highlighted the Salamanca Combined-Cycle Plant, inaugurated in 2025, and projected a new 457-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle facility by 2030. In a second session, it heard from CANACINTRA, CANACO, and COPARMEX, as well as automotive, aerospace, and medical device clusters. "The strategy seeks to anticipate demand and strengthen infrastructure in key zones of the state," CFE stated, according to Infobae.

The next milestone is the multi-year calendar of the distribution plan, which CFE expects to execute between 2026 and 2031, according to Milenio, alongside the launch of the 457 MW combined-cycle plant. Both will determine whether the Bajío grid can keep pace with the industrial investment driven by nearshoring.

This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance, drawing on verified sources, and reviewed by a human editor before publication.