Will México cut Belize Electricity Limited for non-payment?
In mid-May at its Annual General Meeting, the Belize Electricity Limited declared that its profits had plunged by five million dollars for the 2010 financial year and that it made only three point four million dollars. At that juncture, B.E.L. declared that because of the declining profits, it has not been able to meet loan obligations or pay dividends. Well, tonight there is a strong belief that B.E.L. might not meet its payments to the Comision Federal de Electricidad, the Mexican power supplier from whom it buys most of its electricity. If the country’s sole provider of electricity can’t pay its bill, then the government is obligated to step in as a guarantor for a credit line with the C.F.E. If that fails and C.F.E. cuts power supply, then B.E.L. could be forced to initiate a rotation system to meet the power supply for the country. The Public Utilities Commission, we understand, is attempting to broker a deal to stave off the blackouts. B.E.L.’s C.E.O., Lyn Young, is away and could not be reached for comment.
Another aspect of this useless gov.
If the Government must guarantee payment, and as in Belize we pay a PREMIUM for current way more than any developed country, MAYBE the government should add Belize electric the our portfolio and make the profit which the PUC has already SHOWN TO BE SUBSTANTIAL!!!!!
Everyone is having a hard time BUT if the greedy Sharholders need so much profit maybe it is time to move on and GOUGE some other SMALL COUNTRY!!!!
If the government steps in to guarantee the credit line for BEL, that’ll be tax payers money involved. So, do we, the tax payer get any benefits – lower rates, longer periods between non-payment or late payment of bills and disconnection???
I doubt it….
Besides, don’t we have 3 hydro-electric dams and a massive generator in Belize? Not to mention the Bargas & generators in Placencia.
Once again the Belizian consumer and taxpayer will get shafted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A few weeks ago some one said this to me:
just read the news story carefully and see what BEL is saying. They are saying that they have made 3.4M in profits. One need not be an accountant to know that profit means the gains made on an investment once all liabilities for a finacial year have been discharged.That means BELs complaint about not being able to meet debts does not hold water. If they have made profits it means that their loan commitments for the financial year have been met leaving a profit of 3.4M. What BEL really wants to say in a round about way is that they want to make more profits and to do this they need the consumer to pay a higher rate for electricity. Don’t be duped my fellow Belizeans. BEL is creating fear without cause.
Here’s a question we need answered: WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO THAT BEL COLLECTS?
And here is ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF……….. INCOMPETENCE……… and MISMANAGEMENT….
WE HAVE ENOUGH NATURAL RESOURCES TO ……………NOT BE IN THIS POSITION!!!
WE HAVE TWO or THREE DAMS AND HALF THE COUNTRY IS FLOATING ON OIL……wtf????
WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS BELIZE……….WE CAN DO MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!!!
Ok this is not about the government this is about BEL not being able to management this energy dependency. The only thing that the government is to blame is not encouraging BEL to seek alternative energy so Belize can be energy independent.