Panton: “Explanations Will Not Lower Light Bills”

The Prime Minister may have explained why electricity prices are rising, but Opposition Leader Tracy Panton says that explanation does nothing to lower people’s bills. She also questioned the Briceño administration’s temporary power-generation agreement with a Belgium-based company, which government says will help reduce load shedding. Here is what Panton had to say.

 

Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition

“Explanation don’t lower the bill. The Prime Minister spent time explaining why electricity bills have gone up. We are not asking the government for an explanation as to why. We simply want a solution as to how to bring it down. And then there is a bigger problem. By the Prime Minister’s own admission, Mexico’s CFE reduced Belize’s electricity supply to zero. Zero. We are now filling that gap with a temporary six-month diesel-generation arrangement while waiting for solar and battery capacity, first promised in 2023 that is now expected to arrive in 2027.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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