La Paz residents endured another round of widespread blackouts Thursday evening, with more than 33,000 users losing power after a technical failure at the city’s main electrical substation — the second major outage in less than a week.
The Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) reported the failure at 6:41 p.m. on August 20, originating at the La Paz substation located at the intersection of Nayarit and Chiapas streets. Within 20 minutes, crews had restored service to roughly 38 percent of affected customers, but thousands remained without power well into the evening.
According to El Sudcaliforniano, the outage hit more than a dozen neighborhoods across the capital, including Los Olivos, Las Arboledas, Bellavista, La Fuente, Puesta de Sol, Guerrero, areas surrounding the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, Pueblo Nuevo, Civilizadores, Revolución 1 and 2, Santa Fe and San Fernando.
For some residents, Thursday’s blackout was the second or third disruption this week. Just three days earlier, on Monday, August 17, a separate outage knocked out power to more than 6,200 homes and businesses — and as of Wednesday evening, roughly 500 users were still waiting for service to be fully restored.
Some Neighborhoods Still in the Dark
State Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío confirmed the Thursday failure in a public statement, explaining that CFE crews were working to bring the grid back online in stages. He estimated full restoration by approximately 7:13 p.m., though reports from Colectivo Pericú indicated that some areas remained without power into the night and that certain users had been without electricity for more than two days in total.
The governor thanked CFE personnel for their response but offered little explanation for why the same substation has failed twice in one week. The earlier outage Monday was blamed on storm damage, including downed poles and damaged transformers following heavy overnight rains. Thursday’s incident, however, was attributed to a technical malfunction at the substation itself.
This marks the latest chapter in La Paz’s ongoing struggle with electrical reliability. In recent years, the city has experienced recurring power outages and voltage drops, often during periods of high demand or after severe weather.
What Residents Are Saying
Frustration is mounting among La Paz residents and business owners, many of whom report losing food, dealing with inoperable water pumps and enduring sweltering indoor temperatures without air conditioning. The timing is particularly difficult for seasonal residents returning for the fall and winter, many of whom rely on stable utilities as they reopen homes or businesses after months away.
Local reports note that some neighborhoods experienced only brief interruptions — power flickering for a few minutes before returning — while others waited hours or, in a handful of cases, more than a full day.
CFE has not yet issued a public timeline for infrastructure upgrades or explained what steps are being taken to prevent future failures at the La Paz substation. The utility has asked residents to report ongoing outages through its official customer service channels.
For now, La Paz residents are left waiting — and hoping the lights stay on.
