Cabinet Gives BEL Green Light for More Generation 

Cabinet has approved an emergency declaration allowing Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) to begin procuring additional generation capacity, after BEL forecast a significant supply shortfall over the next twelve months.

“This is a proactive step to ensure that the country has sufficient electricity to meet growing demand and maintain a reliable supply,” Cabinet said in its press release.

The move comes weeks into back-to-back blackouts and nationwide load shedding, triggered by Mexico’s CFE curtailing its power supply to Belize.

Dr Leroy Almendarez, CEO of the Ministry of Public Utilities, explained the forecasting process behind the request earlier this week. “As demand continues to increase for your product, for example, one of the things you need to do is forecast in advance,” Almendarez said. “BEL must also be very much aware of what, in terms of domestic generation or supply, is available.”

Almendarez said BEL forecasts demand yearly and over five-year periods, using historical averages to project future needs. That data is then passed to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for review.

“The regulator is notified, but not just notified, provided with the data that shows here is where we are and here is what the demand looks like,” Almendarez said. “After that review, the PUC does not write BEL. The PUC writes to the Minister of Energy, because the emergency declaration is approved by the Cabinet, not by the PUC.”

 With Cabinet’s green light, BEL can now begin the process of obtaining additional generation capacity to address the anticipated supply shortage.