B.E.L. says it is prepared for possibility of power interruption

The announced power outages were expected to begin today and when we contacted B.E.L. on Thursday the company said it is preparing for any power outage that may occur as a result of repair and maintenance work that their supplier in Mexico, C.F.E., is undertaking. C.F.E. told News Five also on Thursday that it would not interrupt power supply. Nonetheless, we found the Magazine Road plant running today. The company’s C.E.O., Lynn Young told us yesterday that they were preparing for the possibility of outages by using as much economic energy as they can from C.F.E. and making up the difference with the gas turbine and the hydro. The company is also relying on the Belize Aquaculture Limited in Stann Creek to provide fifteen megawatts of power generated by heavy fuel oil. Young said they were also considering whether they should rent equipment to ensure that the outages, if any, will be minimal. Over the weekend B.E.L. had to resort to energy supply from the Magazine Road plant when it claims C.F.E. interrupted its service to the country. This afternoon we checked with B.E.L.’s Corporate Communications Manager, Dawn Sampson, who said there were no interruptions so far from the Mexican supply. However, B.E.L. advises customers to conserve power.