Dated August 3, 2026, this report examines a growing energy security crisis rippling across Central America, where Mexico’s struggling national power grid has left neighboring Belize facing growing risks of blackouts and spiking energy costs for residential and commercial consumers.
For decades, Belize has structured its national energy mix around three core sources: imported electricity from Mexico, domestic fossil fuel generation, and locally produced renewable energy, all overseen by the national utility Belize Electricity Limited (BEL). But in recent years, this long-standing model has fractured, as Mexico confronts a deepening domestic energy crisis driven by overlapping climate and infrastructure challenges.
Lynn Young, Executive Chairman of BEL, explained that climate change has amplified strain on energy systems on both sides of the border. Rising average temperatures driven by global climate change have triggered a surge in electricity demand, as households and businesses ramp up air conditioning use to cope with extreme heat. “They have been having similar challenges to us with the challenges brought on by climate change,” Young noted in an interview. “That’s something that happens everywhere. It’s happening in Mexico too, so they are having challenges meeting the demand. And when they have the challenges, then sometimes they can’t supply us.”
While Mexico has begun developing new gas-fired generation facilities to close the supply gap, the projects have faced persistent delays linked to fuel supply shortages. Young acknowledged that these infrastructure upgrades will take years to reach full operation, leaving Belize vulnerable to unreliable imported power through the medium term.
The crisis extends beyond supply reliability: as Mexico’s domestic demand outpaces supply, the cost of imported electricity has jumped sharply, passing higher expenses directly to Belizean consumers. Rosanety Barrios, an independent energy consultant based in Mexico, confirmed that the crisis has escalated steadily in recent years. She emphasized that Mexico’s core issue is a long-standing shortage of energy infrastructure that has slowed broader economic growth, as industrial investors avoid the country over concerns about consistent power access. “We have a problem with insufficient infrastructure,” Barrios explained. “On top of that, of course, demand normally rises every year as a result of both a growing population and let’s say, the heat, which is becoming an increasingly significant factor worldwide.”
With Mexico’s crisis showing no near-term resolution, Belize has floated the idea of diversifying its foreign energy imports by adding Guatemala as a second supplier. Early exploratory talks between the two nations have already begun, and preliminary feasibility studies are being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). But Young warned that a cross-border transmission connection with Guatemala is not a quick fix. “Just the studies alone might take another year or two before we come up with what’s the right size transmission lines, and then you have to start negotiating commercial agreements, not to mention the country level political aspect of it,” Young said. “So that’s gonna take a while before we can do that.”
Instead, BEL is focusing on a long-term domestic strategy to reduce Belize’s dependence on foreign power. The utility is moving forward with plans to scale up local solar energy generation and accelerate development of other domestic energy resources, with the explicit goal of cutting reliance on costly, unreliable imports from Mexico. Young acknowledged that Belizean consumers are already feeling the financial pressure of higher monthly electricity bills, but he expressed optimism that targeted investments in domestic energy will deliver lower, more stable costs for households within the next several years. This report from Britney Gordon aired for News Five, Belize’s leading evening news broadcast.