On August 20, 2026, hundreds of Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) customers across Belize District have taken to social media to voice widespread anger over unexplained sharp increases in monthly electricity bills, which have arrived as an unpleasant shock for households already navigating rising cost-of-living pressures.
The wave of complaints coincides with BEL’s rollout of a new Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) mechanism, a regulatory change that allows the utility to raise customer rates by up to 1.5% to offset increases in wholesale power purchasing costs. But many customers argue this surcharge alone cannot account for the dramatic jumps they are seeing on their monthly statements, even when their overall energy consumption has remained unchanged.
Demmy Williams, a BEL customer and one of the most vocal critics of the new pricing structure, has shared a striking example that has resonated with hundreds of other users online. Williams holds two separate BEL accounts, and one of those accounts is for an apartment that has been completely unoccupied since the first week of July. With all non-essential appliances unplugged – only a small refrigerator and Wi-Fi for security cameras remain powered – the empty apartment still generated an $84 electricity bill, identical to the average monthly charge when Williams lives in the space full-time.
“I live alone when I’m there, and even then my usage is very minimal,” Williams explained in an interview. “There’s no way a few low-power devices add up to $84 worth of electricity for a full month of no regular use. It just doesn’t add up.” Williams also noted that her mother, who lives alone in a separate home with no extra residents or high-consumption appliances, has seen her average monthly bill jump from the $80-$90 range to over $100, a more than 15% increase that cannot be explained by minor changes in usage. While Williams acknowledges that record-high seasonal temperatures could lead to a small uptick in energy use from increased air conditioning use across the country, she says the scale of the increases is unprecedented and unjustified.
Williams is among a growing group of customers demanding that BEL release a transparent, line-item breakdown of all new charges added to monthly bills, so customers can verify exactly what is driving the unexpected higher costs. As of publication, BEL has not issued an official response to the growing wave of public complaints posted across social media platforms.