Baja California in 2026: the power system that arrives at EnerBaja

Bajío Ventures · September 2026

On 23 and 24 September, the Baja California Center in Rosarito hosts EnerBaja 2026. The agenda includes Mexico’s Secretary of Energy and the CEO of CFE, with a keynote on the energy sector of Mexico and Baja California to 2030. CENACE’s regional control office for Baja California also takes part, with a session on interconnection requirements for power plants and connection of load centres. The forum comes after a year of fundamental change in the state’s power system.

What changed: interconnection and new capacity

For decades, Baja California ran its own grid, with no connection to the rest of Mexico and with links to California. In June 2026, the federal government announced that, for the first time, the Baja California peninsula is interconnected to the national grid. The link is a 300 MW transmission line associated with the Puerto Peñasco solar plant, and it is being reinforced with additional towers. For reference, the interconnection project proposed in 2018 envisaged a 1,500 MW high-voltage direct current link between Mexicali and Hermosillo.

In May, the González Ortega combined-cycle plant in Mexicali entered commercial operation, with 745.4 MW installed and a reported public investment of USD 704 million. The project included two substations, at 115 kV and 230 kV.

What did not change: summer

In July, Mexicali residents reported neighbourhoods without power for more than 20 hours, with temperatures above 50 °C. On the official side, CFE reports that between January and July Baja California recorded 55% fewer faults than in the same period of 2024. Both can be true at once: an aggregate state indicator can improve while specific neighbourhoods suffer long outages. Much of that failure, moreover, sits in the distribution network, not in generation.

Imports from California remain conditional. According to CENACE, the additional summer import capacity — from 408 to 600 MW — is conditional on a 700 MW deficit in the zone and can revert to 408 MW if system conditions change.

Gas: from importer to exporter

In April, the first feed gas reached the Energía Costa Azul export terminal near Ensenada. By June, gas deliveries at the Ogilby metering point on the border were running at around 900 million cubic feet per day, 300 to 400 million above the seasonal norm.

The Rosarito pipeline, which feeds the terminal, also supplies power plants and other consumers in Mexico. Meanwhile, the 647.9 MW San Luis Río Colorado combined cycle in Sonora remains idle, partly because of pipeline logistics.

Storage

In May, the Ministry of Energy opened a call for strategic generation and storage projects associated with CFE. The initial reference for stand-alone storage is 935 MW, all with three-hour duration. Registration has been extended to 30 October — the third change to the deadline. EnerBaja devotes a panel to the topic on 24 September, with developers and the Mexican Energy Storage Association.

Bajío Ventures at EnerBaja 2026

Bajío Ventures, through its Bajío Invest brand, takes part on 24 September, from 15:10 to 16:05, in the panel “AI and energy efficiency: optimising industrial operations”. It is represented by Germán Bonilla Bermúdez, Chief Operating Officer. The panel also includes Oscar Jony García (Energy Consulting Group México), David Soto Liquidano (Schneider Electric) and Itzul Naxheili Girón (Celestial Dynamics).

The panel addresses energy consumption in industrial operations — Bajío Ventures’ own ground: the Bajío’s industrial base and the power supply of its parks and plants.

Dates to watch

• Sonora–Baja California link reinforcement: under construction; currently operating at 300 MW.
• Storage project registration with the Ministry of Energy: closes 30 October 2026.
• San Luis Río Colorado combined cycle (647.9 MW): no commercial operation date announced.

Sources: EnerBaja 2026 official programme (23–24 September, Baja California Center, Rosarito) · El Vigía, national grid finally connects BC, 25 Jun 2026 · La Jornada, Puerto Peñasco solar plant, 26 Feb 2026 · SENER, Baja California interconnection (2018) · CFE, González Ortega commercial operation, May 2026 · Eje Central, González Ortega inauguration, 21 Jun 2026 · Energía a Debate, pending combined cycles, 18 May 2026 · Zeta Tijuana, Mexicali outages, Jul 2026 · Excélsior, CFE outage report Jan–Jul 2026 · Energy Magazine, imports from California · Natural Gas Intelligence, Energía Costa Azul, 28 Apr 2026 · East Daley, first LNG at Costa Azul, Jun 2026 · pv magazine México, SENER call, May 2026 · BNamericas, registration deadline extended, Sep 2026

Bajío Ventures, operating under the Bajío Invest brand, is a Mexican energy infrastructure investment group based in Guanajuato: capital, a data platform on the regional industrial base and a German industrial channel, with its own advisory presence in Berlin.