P.U.C. appoints consultant in B.E.L. review

In March, Belize Electricity Limited, as part of a full tariff review proceeding, applied for a fourteen percent increase in rates, largely on the basis of increased costs for imported diesel. The Public Utilities Commission, in its initial decision, granted only an eight point six percent increase. Now, as part of the review process, following written objections from B.E.L., the P.U.C. has appointed an independent consultant to offer his opinion. He is Dennis Colenutt of NERA Economic Consulting. Colenutt, who directs the company’s London office, is required to issue a written report by June seventeenth. Once that report is issued, customers representing over ten percent of electricity sales will have twenty days to submit their comments, after which a final decision will be made. The new rates, whatever they are, will go into effect on July first.