San Pedro without power for 19 hours

Residents of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye were plagued by a series of malfunctions and mishaps this weekend that left some portions of the community without power for over 19 hours. B.E.L. says excessive dust and bad weather are responsible for the power loss to the center of town and southern areas of the island. The problems began at five a.m. Saturday morning when a high accumulation of dust caused a flashover near the Maya Princess Hotel. This was followed by wind blowing down a radio antenna causing it to hit high voltage lines. Dust then mixed with dew on other lines causing additional flashes and power failures. B.E.L. and Fire Department personnel worked all of Saturday night to wash dust off insulators and replace hardware. Finally, with assistance from Belize City workers, all feeders were restored by two p.m. on Sunday. However, before San Pedranos could enjoy their electricity, a heavy gust around five p.m. lifted the roof off a building causing it to touch the high-tension poles near the boat yard. These outages meant some customers spent the entire night without power while B.E.L. worked on the problem. Power was not on again until today. B.E.L. says the excessive dust problem is the result of increased traffic on the island. The company says they have contacted the manufacturers of the equipment they use to find products that can withstand a high level of dust and salt contamination. In the meantime, a regular program to wash the insulators will be implemented and B.E.L. engineers are studying the problem to find a long-term solution.

In related news, B.E.L. distributed checks totaling almost sixteen thousand dollars as a “thank you” to San Pedranos who were inconvenienced by extended power failures during the eight months the submarine cable was being installed.