July 4, 2024
Based on the latest advisory, Hurricane Beryl is a Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, and is expected to further weaken before it makes landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula, somewhere to the north of Belize within the next 18 hours.
Comision Federal de Electricidad’s (CFE) transmission system, to which Belize Electricity Limited’s (BEL) grid is connected, should be well capable of physically withstanding the strong winds from a Category 2 hurricane. Our experience with CFE, in the past, is that their supply to Belize has held up very well during hurricanes. However, there are many other factors associated with hurricanes, such as lightning, flying debris, and mudslides, that can cause transmission system outages.
In any case, we currently have sufficient in-country capacity to meet peak demand if CFE is unable to supply us with power. There is, of course, the possibility of changing circumstances; for example, excessive rains could affect the output from the bagasse-fuelled power plants at Belcogen and Santander. In this situation, we should still have sufficient generation capacity to meet demand.
The impacts of lightning and wind on our own transmission and distribution system during the passage of the hurricane to the north of us is a particular issue to which we will be paying keen attention. Although BEL has done significant preventative line clearing during the year and has secured exposed critical equipment in our substations and generating stations, some parts of our system remain vulnerable to extreme weather events.
While we will do our best to maintain reliable supply of power throughout the passage of the storm, we ask our Customers to kindly bear patience with us as we do all we can to keep the lights on during this time.
BEL joins all Belizeans in praying for all those who have been or are now in the path of this dangerous storm. We have already reached out to our fellow Caribbean electric utilities to offer our assistance in restoring electricity to their respective islands if needed.
We thank all our Customers for their continued support and wish you and your families safekeeping through the storm as we continue to serve you.
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