B.W.S.L. Wins Case against the P.U.C.

In court today, an interesting case came up where the government controlled Belize Water Services Limited sued the regulator, the Public Utilities Commission. The matter was before the courts last year when BWSL sought and got an injunction against the P.U.C. after it approved a reduction in water rates of six percent. According the water company, the regulator could only have done so under exceptional circumstances. At the time, the attorney for BWSL, Rodwell Williams, argued that B.W.S.L. nor the P.U.C. can hold annual review proceedings to lower or raise tariffs. Furthermore, Williams argued that the natural rights of B.W.S.L. were infringed because it was given absolutely no notice. In a thirty-two-page ruling by Justice Michelle Arana, she said that P.U.C. did not give proper notice and went outside its purview.