P.U.C. to serve B.E.L. with compliance order

Meanwhile, the Public Utilities Commission will serve its order of compliance on another utility company, Belize Electricity Limited, on Tuesday. The order was scheduled to be served on Friday, but was delayed when B.E.L. applied to the Supreme Court for an injunction. The utility asked that the P.U.C. be prevented from issuing the order until the challenge to the final decision of 2008 has been determined by the court. However, Justice Muria denied the application on the basis that in law it was not sufficiently tied to the final decision proceedings for the injunction to be granted. In a press release issued today, B.E.L. says the company’s options are limited and when the order is issued, it will then appeal to the P.U.C. for reconsideration or appeal the decision to the Supreme Court as provided by the P.U.C. Act. The utility maintains that P.U.C.’s denial for a rate increase along with retroactively applied charges has resulted in a liquidity problem and its suppliers are asking for payments up front. As a result, B.E.L. says it is unable to continue the previous practice of subsidizing new connections for customers.