Data centre development in Mexico City: power grid wait times, CFE tariffs, permitting and operators

Market landscape and operational capacity

The Mexico City metropolitan area, alongside the adjacent Querétaro digital corridor, represents the principal market for data centre deployment in Mexico. According to the Mexican Data Centre Association (MEXDC), installed data centre capacity in Mexico reached approximately 280 MW in 2026, up from 115.5 MW in 2024. Growth is primarily driven by cloud providers and hyperscale facilities.

While demand for colocation and cloud hosting remains high, physical deployment in Mexico City itself faces spatial and power constraints, leading many developers to construct large-scale campuses in nearby industrial hubs while maintaining low-latency dark fibre links back to central Mexico City exchange points.

Power supply, grid capacity and wait times

Electricity generation and distribution in Mexico are strictly managed by state entities. High-voltage grid access is administered by the independent system operator CENACE (Centro Nacional de Control de Energía), while physical interconnection and supply are executed by the state utility CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad).

Securing a medium- or high-voltage connection for a data centre requiring 10 MW or more involves formal interconnection studies conducted by CENACE and CFE. In 2026, realistic wait times for an operational power connection range from 18 to 36 months, depending on local substation transformer capacity and necessary line extensions. In congested sub-regions of the Valley of Mexico, developers are frequently required to fund and build dedicated electrical substations and transmission lines before transferring ownership of that infrastructure to CFE.

Electricity tariffs and supply mechanics

Industrial power in Mexico is supplied under regulated tariffs set by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). Data centres operating in Mexico City consume energy under medium- and high-voltage industrial tariff structures:

• GDMTH (Gran Demanda en Media Tensión Horaria): Applicable to medium-voltage connections above 100 kW.
• DIST / DIT (Demanda Industrial en Subtransmisión / Transmisión): Applicable to large-scale high-voltage loads connected directly to the transmission grid.

In 2026, industrial electricity rates for high-load users average between MXN 2.30 and MXN 2.80 per kWh (approximately USD 0.12 to USD 0.15 per kWh). However, the total cost depends heavily on peak demand charges (cargos por demanda máxima) and time-of-use brackets (base, intermediate, and peak hours). Under recent CRE storage regulations, developers can integrate battery energy storage systems (SAE-CC) directly at load centres to shave peak demand and reduce overall tariff exposure.

Subsea cable landings and terrestrial fibre routes

Mexico City operates as an inland network hub relying on robust cross-border and coastal subsea cable links:

• Coastal subsea landings: International traffic lands on Mexico's Gulf coast at Veracruz and Cancún (via cable systems such as MANTA and AMX-1) or on the Pacific coast. These landing stations funnel traffic inland directly to Mexico City and Querétaro.
• Cross-border terrestrial links: Fiber optic trunks run north to US border exchange points in Laredo, McAllen and El Paso, providing connectivity to major North American data hubs.
• Local backbones: Dark fibre and metro lit fibre networks within Mexico City are provided by carriers including Cirion, C3ntro Telecom, Telmex, Axtel and Totalplay.

Permitting requirements and regulatory approvals

To build and operate a data centre in the Mexico City metropolitan area, developers must navigate a multi-tiered statutory process across federal, state and municipal levels:

1. Energy Interconnection Approval: Issued by CENACE and CFE following technical impact studies. 2. Power Generation / Storage Registration: Issued by the CRE for backup generation assets or large-scale battery storage installations exceeding 0.7 MW. 3. Environmental Impact Authorization (MIA): A Manifestación de Impacto Ambiental must be submitted to the federal environmental ministry SEMARNAT or to SEDEMA (Secretaría del Medio Ambiente de la Ciudad de México) for projects within CDMX jurisdiction. 4. Water Rights Concession: Issued by CONAGUA (Comisión Nacional del Agua) or local municipal water utilities if the facility uses evaporative cooling towers requiring industrial water withdrawal rights. 5. Land Use and Construction Permits: Zoning clearance (Uso de Suelo) and construction licenses issued by municipal authorities or CDMX borough administrations (Alcaldías).

Operators and active developers

Several major international colocation providers, hyperscalers and domestic tech operators maintain active facilities or under-construction campuses serving the Mexico City market:

• Equinix: Operates major IBX colocation data centres in the metropolitan corridor.
• KIO Networks: Operates multiple enterprise and colocation facilities across Mexico City.
• ODATA: Operates hyperscale data centre campuses serving cloud providers.
• Ascenty / Digital Realty: Operates large-scale facilities tailored to enterprise and cloud customers.
• CloudHQ and Scala Data Centers: Actively developing high-MW multi-building campuses in the surrounding corridor.
• Hyperscalers: Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google operate owned or leased cloud regions serving Mexico City.