San Pedro, Ambergris Caye experienced an unplanned power outage this morning due to technical issues encountered by Belize Electricity Company (BEL). The power outage occurred around 10:20 a.m., with BEL explaining that a failure occurred within a key component of a transformer at the Mascall substation. BEL also noted that technical staff managed to intervene before the situation worsened. But the problem could take time to resolve, leaving one of the country’s biggest tourist destinations without power throughout the day and into the night. This comes at a time when BEL is experiencing power shortages as CFE Mexico is cutting supplies to external customers. Tourism and Diaspora Affairs Minister Anthony Marler said the issue of repeated power outages was a concern for the tourism industry, especially during the high season. He said possible solutions are being discussed within the Cabinet and with CFE Mexico.
Tourism Minister Anthony Marler: “This is an issue for us, but we discussed this yesterday in Cabinet and BEL is working hard to rectify the situation. It’s not the best situation. We are in the middle of the season. We are confident that we will be able to implement a solution soon. We are also in discussions with Mexico, so we hope that this issue will be fixed soon.”
This evening, BEL announced the transportation of mobile substation equipment from BEL’s Westlake facility at Mile 8 George Price Highway to the Mascall substation.
