Starting from August 2026, most electricity customers across Belize will face another increase in their monthly utility bills, after the nation’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) gave final approval for a 1.5 cent per kilowatt-hour Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) proposed by Belize Electricity Limited (BEL).
This latest rate adjustment is not a random one-off increase, but the first formal change rolled out under a groundbreaking new regulatory sandbox program designed by PUC. This experimental framework shifts the industry toward a more transparent, monthly-based system that tracks BEL’s real-time power generation and procurement costs, replacing the older static pricing model that often lagged behind actual market fluctuations.
According to statements from BEL, over the previous six months, the utility’s actual power costs have run 4.3 cents per kWh higher than the baseline reference cost that PUC previously approved. Under the new regulatory sandbox rules, however, monthly COPA adjustments — whether upward or downward — are capped at 1.5 cents per kWh. This cap prevents consumers from being hit with the full cumulative cost increase in a single billing cycle, spreading the extra cost out over multiple months to soften the financial blow.
The new surcharge will not apply to all customers: low-income households enrolled in the Social Rate program remain fully exempt from the COPA adjustment. Additionally, the extra charge is not subject to the country’s Goods and Services Tax, and will be listed as a separate line item on customer bills rather than being hidden in the base electricity rate, to improve billing transparency for consumers.
Unlike permanent base rate increases, future monthly COPA adjustments are not locked in as ongoing growth. Every month, BEL is required to submit fully verified financial and operational data to PUC, which will then re-evaluate the upcoming month’s adjustment based on the utility’s actual power costs. Depending on market conditions and procurement outcomes, future adjustments could range from additional small increases to decreases, a neutral zero adjustment, or even customer rebates if power costs drop below the reference baseline.
BEL has emphasized that the new monthly adjustment mechanism is designed to balance two key priorities: helping the utility recover the actual costs it incurs to purchase and supply power to customers across the country, while also shielding consumers from sudden, dramatic spikes in electricity prices that could disrupt household budgets. For August 2026, though, the immediate impact for non-Social Rate customers will be a clear extra cost of 1.5 cents added to every kilowatt-hour they consumed during the billing period.