BEL Officially Launches Smart Meter Project

Belize is taking a major step toward a smarter energy future as Belize Electricity Limited and the Caribbean Development Bank launched the sixty-eight million dollars CDB-BEL Power Eight Project. The initiative will modernize the power grid with thousands of smart meters, offering near real-time monitoring, improved reliability, and greater efficiency. BEL CEO, John Mencias, says the project marks a leap toward a more resilient electricity system, while CDB Vice-President Dr. Isaac Solomon highlighted their confidence in BEL.

 

John Mencias, Chief Executive Officer, Belize Electricity Limited

“The Power Eight Project, also known as the Advanced Metering Infrastructure, EMI implementation project, represents a strategic investment in the modernization of Belize’s energy grid. This forward-looking initiative is designed to empower our customers, optimize utility operations, and align BEL with modern energy solutions. Of course, all contributing to national energy efficiency and sustainability. It is for us a foundational step towards building a more resilient and intelligent grid. The project will deploy approximately one hundred and fifteen smart meters across the country, supported by advanced communications and analytics systems that enable real time energy usage, monitoring, remote operational control and enhanced customer engagement.”

 

Dr. Isaac Solomon, Vice-President, Caribbean Development Bank

“It is a profound honour  and pleasure for us at the Caribbean Development Bank to join you here today for the launch of this transformative Advance Metering Infrastructure upgrade project. We are deeply grateful for the trust placed in us as a main financier of this visionary initiative, and we are immensely proud to stand as partners in progress with BEL and the people of Belize. Today marks an important milestone, not just for Belize’s electricity sector, but for how this country prepares its energy system for the future.”