Senators Demand Answers on Fortis Pullout

Civil society senators had their say in today’s debate as well. Union Senator Glenfield Dennison wanted answers about why Fortis decided to pull out of Belize in the first place. Church Senator Louis Wade raised a question many Belizeans are asking, will this big acquisition actually mean lower electricity bills? And NGO Senator Janelle Chanona pushed for more public awareness, stressing that people need to understand how this deal could affect energy generation and costs down the road.

 

Glenfield Dennison, Union Senator

“I had a similar question in relation to why Fortis who a company with great knowledge of is generating power and selling it, is now getting out of that business and we who know nothing about it is getting into it, that is a serious question I had. And I started looking at our prospects for rain. So, this comes down to water. Hydro is a fancy word, but this comes down to water and the use of that resource along the river.”

 

Louis Wade, Church Senator

“I rise on the matter is because what the people really want on the street is affordable energy, reduced prices in electricity. So we could have a lot of discussion on the benefits of brining the dam to a place where it will be under Belize ownership and we can have national pride because he rivers are now freed up and back in Belize hands. But at the end of the day the electricity rates in Belize are among the highest.”

 

Janelle Chanona, NGO Senator

“While I think there is this relative perception that electricity rates are high I think once you get into the numbers it could look at worse. And Senator Coye has already shared that a tariff review is going to happen to see where things are going to land. And that is going to be important concerning the outcome of this, where everybody is hoping for cheaper power then we can understand, whether it is through cost benefit analysis.”