B.E.L. Chairman on Electricity Situation: “We are in a precarious position”

Belize Electricity Limited Chairman Andrew Marshalleck says Belize remains in a precarious position regarding electricity generation. Although the country has experienced some rain since the start of the month, it has not been enough to refill the dams. With the demand for electricity still high, the likelihood of more power shedding remains a reality. Here is what Marshalleck told us.

 

Andrew Marshalleck, Chairman, Belize Electricity Limited

“I think we are in a precarious position through June July. We have to manage very closely but I think we have been managing. The available capacity is very close to what the system is demanding so the possibility of something going wrong and falling short is real. That is what I mean by precarious. The way you solve that is you need more capacity, because you need redundancy. You need, for when one system fails you turn the other one on and the supply isn’t disrupted. We don’t have that. We barely have enough to meet demand and that will be so until the reservoirs are flushed with water again and that will be maybe until September with the rains. Because we know the reservoirs are low we try not to use the dam for power. It is only when something shuts off then we will turn it on and we use the water. So we are trying to conserve how we use that.”