MEXICO CITY, May 8 (Reuters) - Widespread recent power

outages in Mexico were caused by unseasonably hot weather, the

country's president said on Wednesday, assuring consumers that

the national grid has sufficient generating capacity going

forward.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters at

a regular government press conference that his government will

also coordinate with private power producers, responsible for

about half of Mexico's electricity generation.

Around 20 of Mexico's 32 states were affected by Tuesday's

rolling power outages, according to data from grid operator

CENACE analyzed by Reuters.

On Wednesday morning, net national power demand totaled

around 44.9 gigawatts (GW), just under a net generation of 45.0

GW.

"This was something exceptional that was not expected," said

Lopez Obrador, pointing in particular to a heat wave scorching

parts of the country.

"But we're going to be very attentive to this special

situation we're dealing with," he added.

COPARMEX, a major Mexican employers lobby, pitched more

private investment especially for renewable energy as a way to

improve the grid's reliability.

"The participation of private investment would provide

stability in the face of the various contingencies and

challenges of the national electricity system," it said. "The

generation of clean energy and the creation of storage

infrastructure could avoid future electricity emergencies."

Over the past six years, Lopez Obrador has sought to

prioritize the dispatch of power from state-owned electricity

company Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) while curtailing

the growth of privately-owned generators, many of whom have seen

their renewable energy plans stymied.

Tuesday's power outages struck as large parts of Mexico have

also been grappling with severe water shortages, including

upscale neighborhoods in Mexico City.

Water storage levels for the Cutzamala system, a major

source of drinking water for much of the capital and the

surrounding state of Mexico, has slid to less than 31% on

Tuesday, according to data from national water authority

CONAGUA. Experts have called that level critically low.

(Reporting by David Alire Garcia and Adriana Barrera; Writing

by Stefanie Eschenbacher;)