How big is Mexico's transmission network?

OverWatts maps 42,400 km of transmission line in Mexico, across 2,576 segments, plus 151 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.

What voltage is Mexico's grid?

Most of the mapped network is high voltage (220–379 kV): 22,000 km of 42,400 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 400 kV.

How complete is the grid map for Mexico?

Moderate — 21.5 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 59% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.

Who operates the grid in Mexico?

Comisión Federal de Electricidad, CFE, C.F.E. and 3 others are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 10% of Mexico's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.

What interconnectors connect Mexico to its neighbours?

1,980 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to United States, Guatemala, Belize, plus 300 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023).

Mexico · electricity network

Mexico power grid

OverWatts maps 42,400 km of Mexico's electricity transmission network across 2,576 line segments and 151 substations, the 7th most-mapped grid of 153 countries. Its backbone is high voltage (220–379 kV), carrying 22,000 km — 52% of the mapped length, with the highest tagged voltage at 400 kV. That works out to 21.5 km per 1,000 km² of land — moderate OpenStreetMap coverage, ahead of 59% of mapped countries. It is connected to 3 neighbouring grids by 1,980 MW of existing cross-border transfer capacity, with a further 300 MW planned.

Open the grid lens →Mexico profile →

42,400 km

Mapped transmission line

151

Substations

of 153 mapped grids

2.0 GW

cross-border · 3 neighbours

400 kV

Highest voltage

OpenStreetMap coverage

Moderate21.5 km / 1,000 km²ahead of 59% of 153 mapped countries

This grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn Mexico's network — not how much network exists. Large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone, and every kilometre here is mapped length, so the totals are a floor rather than an operator-reported figure. 1% of segments carry a real line name and 10% an operator tag.

Mapped line length by voltage

380–764 kV20,400 km 48%
220–379 kV22,000 km 52%

2,576 segments · a segment is credited to the country containing its midpoint, so a border-crossing line counts once, on one side.

Cross-border links from Mexico

United States940 MW
United States800 MW
Guatemala200 MW
Belize40 MW
United States300 MW · planned

2.0 GW existing · 300 MW planned · capacities from the Global Transmission Database v0.1 (CC BY 4.0), existing as of 2023

On the interactive map

Open the interactive map →

Load against the network

90.8 GW

Operating generation

Data centres mapped

281

km of line per substation

21.5

km per 1,000 km²

Where there is room to connect a new load depends on published hosting capacity, which most operators release only as their own map. OverWatts does not yet ingest those feeds, so these are the density measures the open data supports — generation and mapped demand against mapped network — not a headroom figure.

Operators tagged on Mexico's network

Segment counts from OSM `operator` tags, merged across spellings. Present on 10% of segments — this ranks who is recorded, not market share.

How Mexico compares · mapped grid by country

1. People's Republic of China624,300 km
5. Brazil160,000 km
6. Canada72,900 km
7. Mexico42,400 km
8. Iran37,700 km
9. France34,500 km

Frequently asked

How big is Mexico's transmission network?: OverWatts maps 42,400 km of transmission line in Mexico, across 2,576 segments, plus 151 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.
What voltage is Mexico's grid?: Most of the mapped network is high voltage (220–379 kV): 22,000 km of 42,400 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 400 kV.
How complete is the grid map for Mexico?: Moderate — 21.5 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 59% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.
Who operates the grid in Mexico?: Comisión Federal de Electricidad, CFE, C.F.E. and 3 others are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 10% of Mexico's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.
What interconnectors connect Mexico to its neighbours?: 1,980 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to United States, Guatemala, Belize, plus 300 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023).

Elsewhere in Mexico

Transmission lines Substations Power plants Data centres

Network geometry: OpenStreetMap (ODbL) © OpenStreetMap contributors, ingested and measured by OverWatts · derived 2026-07-26. Counts every mapped line of 220 kV and above; the map layer draws the ≥380 kV backbone only, so it shows less than is measured here.