by Amy Stillman
If President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was looking for ammunition in his quest to cut Mexico’s reliance on foreign energy, it would be hard to top the electricity blackouts affecting the north of the country.
Mexico reported 4.77 million homes and businesses losing power Monday after imports of natural gas from the U.S. were curbed, knocking power stations offline.
The disruption is a spillover of the worst electricity crisis in recent history in the U.S., where freakishly cold weather cut oil and gas output. Mexico has restored 80% of electricity in northern states and expects power to fully return Wednesday or Thursday, Lopez Obrador said at a press briefing Tuesday. But he didn’t miss the opportunity to make a political point.
The blackout is a reminder that Mexico should become energy independent, as prices for imported gas that Mexico uses to generate power spiked 5,000% amid the crisis, Lopez Obrador said.
“What is the lesson in all of this? We must produce,” he said, referring to gas, but also to gasoline and diesel. “We are seeing that we must seek to be self-sufficient.”
AMLO initially said Monday that 400,000 users…
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