P.M. says Mexico’s President favorable to CFE electricity negotiations

Prime Minister Dean Barrow returned this afternoon from the International Conference to pledge support for the Central America Security Strategy in Guatemala City. While regional security was the headline focus, the continued flow and supply of electricity to Belize and a meeting with the Mexican President were the Prime Minister’s main motive for attending. The P.M. met with President Felipe Calderon to discuss the power supplied by Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE).  According to a release from the Mexican Embassy, President Calderon reiterated “Mexico’s commitment to identify options that will maintain the electricity supply, taking into consideration the current situation in Belize.” This afternoon, News Five asked the PM about the outcome of the meeting with Calderon.

Dean Barrow

“I think the outcome is very favorable. The president is extremely well disposed. I believe that the Mexican Embassy put out a release this morning that confirms that. In terms of the details of through of precisely how CFE will help, those still have to be worked out—clearly the president is not familiar with the day to day workings of CFE. So what was agreed is that I will get Sir Manuel Esquivel to sit with CFE so that we can work out the terms of whatever new arrangements we can come to. But certainly the president has made clear that he will put his weight fully behind that. And so I expect that in a very short time we will be able to have some concrete results.”

Jose Sanchez

Dean Barrow

“Are we looking for extensions in terms of the credit notes or because it is a government owned company now that they don’t need to worry?”

Dean Barrow

“We are actually looking for a formal extension; that will give us some kind of headroom. If we can double the limit of the letter of credit, if we can raise the ceiling to twenty million instead of ten million, then it means that the credit will be extended  and we will have, as I said, far more headroom. So that is number one. Number two of course is also to try and get better terms with respect to the sale price, the purchase price, the rates.”

Jose Sanchez

“With this entire issue, I know locally, we have certain people criticizing it, but the first day of the new ownership. Has the new board been able to look at the books of B.E.L.? Is there anything that is not pleasing to the government?”

Dean Barrow

“Well that I don’t know Jose. They took over on Tuesday—I believe they held their first board meeting at about eleven a.m. on Tuesday morning. It was shortly after that I was leaving to go to Guatemala. I have not been able from Guatemala to make contact with the chairman of the board simply because the schedule over there has been very hectic. So I am really not up to speed on those details.”

While there were no specifics worked out, a release from the Press Office, issued after five o’clock today, says that “Prime Minister Barrow said that the Mexican President made very clear for the record that he is extremely well disposed to Belize’s request that he intervenes with CFE in order to secure: one;. Better rates for Belize in terms of the purchase of electricity from CFE and two; an increase in the credit ceiling so that it doubles from ten million to twenty million dollars. Both of those requests, the Prime Minister feels fell on fertile ground.”