On November 3, 2026, Belize’s Leader of the Opposition Tracy Panton formally announced that the parliamentary opposition bloc will not lend its support to any upcoming electricity rate adjustment under the Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) framework until a full, independent audit of state-run electricity provider Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) is completed and made public. Panton’s intervention comes as utility customers across the country face the prospect of steeper monthly power bills, amid growing public frustration over rising household costs at a time when many families are still recovering from lingering post-pandemic economic strains. During a public address, Panton pushed back firmly against calls to approve the rate increase without full transparency from BEL’s leadership, noting that the utility posted unprecedented net profits through the peak of the COVID-19 public health crisis. Official financial records cited by the opposition show BEL recorded a historic high net profit of $46.6 million during the pandemic, followed by nearly $35 million in 2021 and close to $20 million in 2022. Panton emphasized that there is no public accounting for where those cumulative surpluses, which total well over $100 million across the three-year period, have been allocated, arguing that forcing ratepayers to cover new costs without explaining how past record profits were spent would amount to an unfair, unaccountable bailout of the utility at the public’s expense. “We simply cannot afford it,” Panton stated flatly. “How much more money are we going to divert from household budgets to bail out BEL without understanding that the last three years brought the company record returns on investment? We need an honest, open conversation with the public about where those resources went, and that process has to start with a full independent audit before we even consider approving any COPA rate increase.” As part of the opposition’s push for oversight, a private member’s motion is scheduled for debate in Belize’s Senate on Wednesday, which will formally call for a full formal public inquiry into BEL’s operational and financial affairs to resolve outstanding questions about the utility’s spending of recent profits.