B.E.L. says power will be restored within 5 weeks

One of the key elements in the rebuilding of southern Belize is the restoration of electrical power. Belize Electricity Limited has just completed a damage assessment and estimates that its own infrastructure suffered losses in the region of five million dollars. Vice-President for business and customer services, Michael Polonio, says that despite its losses, BEL is working steadily to get the current flowing.

Mike Polonio, V.P., Business, Customer Services

“Quite a number of poles fell. Also, you find a number of poles leaning, a number of the conductors broke or damaged, trees fell across the line. Some of the poles snapped or broke at various points, transformers fell off and basically there is a significant amount of damage to our distribution plant in the area that was affected by the hurricane.”

Ann-Marie Williams

“Estimated damage in the region of five million Belize dollars. Any plans to maybe re-root your cables, put them underground?”

Mike Polonio

“We won’t be doing any underground connections or building any segments at this time. However, we are taking the opportunity to extend our high voltage lines where it was necessary lines, to increase the voltage and reliability of supply to customers. Particularly in the area of Placencia, where you find that it was a fast growing area and some customers, because of their rapid increase in electricity demand, and using the same old lines that were formerly there, they use to experience low voltage. After this reconstruction, we should not have such complaints.

So what we have to do is to start the reconstruction process, rebuilding the lines nearer to the plants first. And as we rebuild those lines nearer and we get them up and energised, then we move outward. Likewise, for those segments of lines that are least damaged and easier to restore, we also give priorities to those areas.”

Polonio says that full restoration of power should be accomplished within five weeks.