Belize’s national government has given formal approval to an emergency declaration that clears the way for Belize Electricity Limited (BEL), the country’s main power utility, to launch procurement for additional electricity generation capacity. The approval comes in response to a projected significant supply gap that BEL projects will emerge over the coming 12 months.
In an official press statement, Cabinet emphasized that the decision is a pre-emptive measure designed to guarantee the nation has adequate power reserves to meet rising consumer and commercial energy demand, while preserving the reliability of the national grid that millions of Belizeans depend on daily.
The policy action arrives after weeks of widespread disruptions to power service across the country, including consecutive blackouts and scheduled nationwide load shedding. These crises were triggered when Mexico’s state-owned power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) cut back the volume of electricity it exports to Belize, a key source of supplemental power for the Central American nation.
Earlier this week, Dr. Leroy Almendarez, Chief Executive Officer of Belize’s Ministry of Public Utilities, outlined the formal forecasting and approval process that led to the Cabinet’s decision. He explained that long-term energy demand planning is a core responsibility for BEL, as the utility must continuously track available domestic generation capacity against projected consumption growth.
“As energy demand keeps climbing, advance forecasting is non-negotiable,” Almendarez noted. “BEL has to maintain a clear, up-to-date picture of all available domestic power generation and supply sources at all times.”
According to Almendarez, BEL regularly produces both annual and five-year demand projections, drawing on decades of historical consumption data to build accurate models of future energy needs. Once these projections are completed, the full dataset is submitted to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Belize’s independent energy regulator, for formal review.
“It is not just a simple notification to the regulator; we provide the full dataset that lays out current supply levels and projected demand clearly,” Almendarez explained. “After the PUC completes its review, it does not send its recommendation directly back to BEL. Instead, the commission forwards the assessment to the Minister of Energy, because emergency generation declarations fall under the authority of the full Cabinet, not the regulatory body.”
With Cabinet’s formal approval now secured, BEL can immediately move forward with the process of contracting new generation capacity to close the projected supply gap and prevent extended future power disruptions across the country.