Belize Electricity Limited says that it has sufficient in-country capacity to meet peak demand if CFE is unable to supply power

By Zoila Palma Gonzalez: Today, BEL’s CEO John Mencias issued a statement informing all Belizeans that as Category 3 Hurricane Beryl moves toward the Yucatan Peninsula, BEL is capable to meet peak demand if CFE becomes unable to supply power.

Based on the latest advisory, Hurricane Beryl is still a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, and is expected to further weaken before it makes landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula somewhere to the north of Belize within the next 12 hours.

“CFE’s transmission system, to which our grid is connected, should be well capable of physically withstanding the strong winds from a Category 3 hurricane. Our experience with CFE in the past is that, for the most part, their supply to Belize has held up very well during hurricanes. However, there are many other factors associated with hurricanes, such as lightning, flying debris, and mudslides, that can cause transmission system outages,” Mencias noted.

“In any case, we currently have sufficient in-country capacity to meet peak demand if CFE is unable to supply us with power. There is, of course, always the chance that things do not work out as planned: for example, excessive rains could affect the output from the bagasse-fuelled power plants, Belcogen and Santander. But, even if this happens, we should still have just sufficient generation capacity to get by,” Mencias added.

Mencias said that BEL is more concerned about the impacts of lightning and wind on transmission and distribution system during the passage of the hurricane to the north of us.

“Although we have done much preventative line clearing during this year so far and have secured exposed critical equipment in our substations and generating stations, some parts of our system remain vulnerable to extreme weather events.

While we will do our best to maintain reliable supply of power throughout the passage of the storm, we ask all of you, our Customers, to bear patience with us as we do our best to keep the lights on during this time,” Mencias explained.

In addition, Mencias said that BEL employees have been engaged in year-round preparations for what has started off as a busy hurricane season.
Many are working on shift or on call during the passage of this storm. We are most grateful for their hard work and their dedication.

BEL joins all Belizeans in praying for all those who have been or are now in the path of this dangerous storm.

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