Belize’s Energy Demand Hit Record 127 Megawatts

As the nation continues to grapple with an energy crisis, it may appear as if there is no end in sight and that Belizeans will have to endure many more hot days and nights without electricity. Well, Michel Chebat, the Minister of Energy, says the Briceno administration is putting things in place for the short and long term, as he sought to provide some reassurance to the public. Here is what he said inside the National Assembly.

 

Michel Chebat, Minister of Energy

“As we reflect on the electricity sector in the past couple of months. We can see how climate change has impacted our lives. On the fourth of April the Phillip Goldson International Airport recorded a new high temperature of a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Last week there was a new record high for electricity demand of a hundred and twenty-seven megawatts caused by the increased use of ACs and fans to deal with insufferable heat and the electricity demand is expected to grow to a hundred and thirty-five megawatts in June, levels never before seen in our country. This extended heatwave and drought has brought the levels of our hydro facilities to critical low levels. These events reinforce the considerations that went into the new energy policy that was approved last year. The policy has a clear vision of how we will take action to increase our renewable energy penetration from fifty-three percent to seventy-five percent by 2030 and by adding a hundred and sixty megawatts of new generation to the grid. This increase will meet our future demands which is expected to be at a hundred and sixty-three megawatts based on current trends. A couple weeks ago I traveled with the honorable prime minister to Cancun where we met with the Mexican president to discuss the supply of electricity to Belize. Mexico is committed to assisting us and we have the assurance that after the second of June the electricity from C.F.E. will stabilize and in addition we will extend the supply from C.F.E. by twenty-five megawatts more.”