Soft Drink Production Drops while Bowen on Standby with B.E.L.  

Amidst Belize’s ongoing energy crisis and negotiations with Mexico, Bowen and Bowen, Belize’s largest beverage production company, was asked by Belize Electricity limited to temporarily come off the power grid and switch over to generator, while B.E.L. works towards a solution. However, on Monday, Prime Minister John Briceño, revealed that C.F.E. has agreed to supply Belize with seventy-five megawatts of power, committing twenty megawatts more than the previous arrangement. We asked Bowen and Bowen Corporate Relations Manager, Rosanna Villanueva if the company has been in discussion regarding the possibility of returning to the grid soon. Here’s what she had to say.

 

Rosanna Villanueva, Corporate Relations Manager, B&B Ltd.

 “It has curtailed our production a bit, simply because the generators that we have are not able to power all the lines All at the same time. So on a regular basis on a normal times, we would have all our production lines running at the same time. The generators are not able to sustain that level of production. So it essentially means that we then have to pick and choose which lines are going to be running which lines are going to be producing. We do have a third generator that is in the process of being brought up. And that is going to assist us a great deal in trying to get back to our normal production. When we’re off the grid. As I mentioned, this would happen when we’re off the grid. We do understand BEL needs to meet the power needs of other critical services of, households. It’s not just Bowen and Bowen going through this. It’s the entire country. So we try as much as possible to work along with them and assist where we can.”

 

Britney Gordon

“The government has been in talks with Mexico, CFE to increase the amount of energy we received from them. Has there been any word to your company and the other parties that were asked to come off the grid about possibly getting back on the grid and going back to your normal production?”

 

Rosanna Villanueva

“Okay, so that is a great development for the country. We would be, along with all other Belizeans we would be updated as progress is made on that. And for us, it would be of course beneficial for us because the less we come off the grid, the greater the more we’re able to produce, I should say. It’s a good thing for the entire country. As I said, it’s not just Bowen and Bowen experiencing this. So yeah, I think that would be a good development and we’re waiting along with everyone else to see what happens and what progress is made in that regard.”