Living Close to a Hospital May Just be Keeping Your Lights On

Online reactions are often hard to overlook as soon as Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) releases, as of late, its daily load shedding schedule. But what actually determines who gets cut off and who stays connected?

Some residents have even described the guessing game as feeling like playing Russian roulette, never knowing which neighbourhood, or which hour, will be next.

But Public Utilities CEO Dr. Leroy Almendarez says load shedding is not random. He told News 5 that BEL has to make rapid decisions about which feeders can be taken offline while protecting critical facilities and managing the country’s limited power supply.

“BEL has to also look at where the hospitals are located,” Almendarez said. “You know what it is to take out a hospital with patients in ICU and undergoing possible surgeries.” 

Outages are organised around those high-demand load centres and by feeder, and covers regions across districts with hospitals factored in to avoid cutting power to critical care. 

When Mexico’s electricity supply drops to zero, Almendarez said BEL assesses how much power is available from other sources, including BSI, Santander, Hydro Maya and Hydro Belize.

The company then determines which feeders can be taken out of service and rotated.

Almendarez recognises the public’s frustration, particularly because load shedding affects schools, households, businesses and hospitals despite all efforts to avoid it. 

“It’s not the best thing to experience any kind of load shedding,” he said. “you hear about schools; children are doing homework, hospitals.”

The government is now looking at additional generation capacity, with BEL expected to submit a plan to the Minister of Public Utilities, Energy, and Logistics, Minister Michel Chebat, outlining the power it needs to procure. Belize is also looking at expanding storage capacity through what Almendarez referred to as “distribution generation.”