Blackouts persist, B.E.L. blames weather
It has not been a good month for Belize Electricity Limited as extreme dry weather has continued to demonstrate the weakness in B.E.L.’s generation and distribution system. Today, consumers suffered again as rolling blackouts turned the lights off over the majority of the nation. This time, the problem originated in the north, where, shortly after midnight a combination of dust and the morning dew conspired to trip the high voltage transmission line bringing power from Mexico. B.E.L.’s C.E.O., Lynn Young, says that while the company scrambled to get its diesel generators going, a number of secondary mishaps severely delayed the return to full service.
Lynn Young, C.E.O., Belize Electricity Limited
“We had three problems today really. One was that a transmission line on the one-fifteen line from Mexico, we had a fire on that and that took long to get back. And while that was out, we restored power using Mollejon, but the water is dangerously low at Mollejon so we had to be careful that we did not run out all the water there, because we wanted to make sure that we had the power for later. But in addition to that we have a lot of transformers giving problems with the dust. The dust has been causing flashes on the transformers and we’ve lost three or four transformers. I know there was one lost in the Buttonwood Bay area and that took a while to deal with.
“In San Pedro, the problem on the transmission line occurred near to the connection that leads over to San Pedro. So we isolated that section of the line and we fed Orange Walk and Corozal from Mexico, and we fed the rest of the country from Mollejon and the diesels in Belize City. But then because it happened near to the San Pedro connection we couldn’t connect San Pedro into the system and we have to use just the diesel backups in San Pedro. And the diesel backups we have in San Pedro, with the growth that’s been taking place out there, cannot carry the entire system right now.”
As for people who complain about appliances damaged because of the frequent outages, Young says that the company will honour legitimate claims so long as they are verified. In the meantime, Young’s advice to customers is to use surge protectors on appliances and a U.P.S. for computers. To date, fire has caused the loss of fifteen poles that carry high-tension wires. Despite an extra thirteen megawatts of generation capacity held on standby, the company’s supply is still falling short of peak demand. Young says that until the arrival of the first good rain, the problem with the insulators is expected to continue. Those members of the business community who would like to hear from Young in person can do so on Wednesday evening at a mixer sponsored by the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It is scheduled for five-thirty at the Radisson.
