Francisca Cruz hugs her 82-year-old father Agustín under the shade of one of the solar panels installed by Iberdrola México that have provided electricity for their community of around 20 people, after decades in the dark.
“It changed our lives dramatically. And it has been great for me because we no longer need to go around asking people to charge our cell phones or buying gasoline for an electricity generator”, points out the 52-year-old woman.
Achiquico is one of the rural communities in the Huasteca Potosina that now has electricity thanks to the Luces de Esperanza (Lights of Hope) program. During this third stage clean, renewable energy was brought to fifteen communities and a community school, benefiting 560 people.
Solar energy helps counteract energy poverty in the country. The fact of the matter is that many communities in Mexico still do not have basic services such as electricity. According to the report VIVIR A OSCURAS: la pobreza energética en México (LIVING IN THE DARK: energy poverty in Mexico) [1], in 2018, two million Mexicans did not have electricity. At Iberdrola México we are convinced that we can help address this situation through our social actions.
Luces de Esperanza was created to address the country’s energy issues. Mexico’s geographic location means the country has great potential to generate solar energy. As a company, we already do this for our customers and are now working to replicate the model in remote communities without electricity.
What have we accomplished?
We started in 2019 with the first stage of the project in the municipalities of Tamazunchale and San Martín Chalchicuautla, San Luis Potosí, benefiting 392 people by bringing electricity to 48 homes and two community spaces with the installation of solar panels, benefiting 395 people. In the second stage we helped 496 people in Tamazunchale, San Martín Chalchicuautla, Matlapa and Tampacán. Our work continues!
In 2020 we brought the program to Oaxaca, specifically to the community of San Pedro Pochutla. A year later, in 2021, we returned to the state, on this occasion to San Juan Guichicovi and Matías Romero Avendaño. During these two stages we have directly benefited 780 people and brought electricity to 195 homes thanks to the installation of solar panels. This is a great achievement!
The most recent results are the outcome of the implementation of the third stage in San Luis Potosí, where we helped over 560 people in rural communities in the municipalities of Tamazunchale, San Martín Chalchicuautla, Tampacán and Xilitla. An investment of 16.5 million pesos has enabled 1,500 people in the Huasteca Potosina region to benefit from the program already.
The project’s total budget comes to 80 million pesos to help over 12,000 people in different regions of the country, as well as helping achieve a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy -, SDG 10 -Reduced Inequalities, and SDG 11 -Sustainable Cities and Communities.
This great project would not have been possible without partnerships. Without doubt, together our positive energy is more powerful!
