High prices from Mexico cripple BEL

The big news yesterday may have been the 25 cents per gallon increase in fuel prices for motorists, but News Five today learned that the biggest victim of the skyrocketing world oil market has been Belize Electricity Ltd. A call to the company this evening revealed that the cost of Mexican diesel, which is relied on to power BEL’s generators, primarily during the dry season, has increased around 90% in the last year. Likewise, under the contract to purchase bulk electricity from Mexico the price per kilowatt hour for that source of power has risen by a similar ratio. Thus far BEL has absorbed the crippling price increases without seeking higher rates, but the recent turn of events has dramatized the company’s efforts to diversify its energy sources away from dependence on fossil fuels. Right now the only predictably priced electricity for BEL comes from the much-maligned Mollejon Hydro plant in Cayo. Since the onset of the rainy season Mollejon has been running at near capacity, drastically reducing the need for BEL to pay exorbitant prices for imported diesel and Mexican power. A decision to proceed with the further development of Belize’s hydro resources at Chalillo has been held up pending negotiations with Mollejon’s owners and the completion of an environmental assessment.