Government to Buy Fortis’ Hydro Plants and BEL Stake

Tomorrow, in the House of Representatives, Prime Minister John Briceño, will announce that the Government of Belize and Fortis Inc. of Canada have reached an agreement for the purchase of Fortis Inc.’s electricity sector assets in Belize. PM Briceño, with the approval of Cabinet, will table a bill that seeks parliamentary approval for the acquisition of the three hydropower plants owned and operated by Fortis Belize. The bill would also authorize the acquisition of Fortis’s one-third shareholding in Belize Electricity Limited. The government plans to buy three hydroelectric plants and a major stake in Belize Electricity Limited from Canadian company Fortis Inc. Officials say the deal will give Belize greater control over its power supply, but it also raises big questions: How will this acquisition be funded? Will it lower electricity costs for consumers? And what does it mean for Belize’s long-term energy independence?

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Not to go into great details but in May of this year, Fortis along with the vice president and the potential new owner came to see me. They were planning to sell Fortis Belize to a company out of Honduras. After, I called the Vice President privately and said I am disappointed that the company would not talk to us first about the ownership before they go and sell to another group. He did apologize but also made the point that while it is a part of their strategy to move out of the Caribbean, they have sold out of their operations in Cayman and Turks and Cacus, they started their discussion with this group. So, they immediately agreed to meet with us, and we have been in earnest negotiations since May, and I am very happy to announce that we have already dotted all the eyes and crossed the t’s and we are at the point of going to the National Assembly tomorrow to get approval for the purchase.”

 

Belize is set to buy three Macal River hydro plants: Mollejon, Chalillo, and Vaca, which together power over a third of the country. The government plans to fund the deal through a special budget and wrap it up by November fifteenth, then recover costs with a domestic equity and debt offering. Contracts for Mollejon and Chalillo run until 2050; Vaca until 2060. Financial details will come when the bill is presented.