Widespread power outage experienced in four districts for over an hour on Friday evening.

by Kristen Ku

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Dec. 18, 2023

A sudden power outage brought many activities to a halt in large portions of Belize on Friday, December 15, starting around 5:00 p.m. Residents in the Belize, Cayo, Stann Creek, and Toledo districts were left without electricity for over an hour.

The Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) promptly responded to the crisis, restoring power using local generation sources. The blackout, which affected nearly half the country, was resolved later in the evening after BEL teams worked quickly to identify and fix the cause.

According to BEL’s statement on their Facebook page, the outage was due to a transmission pole anchor coming into contact with high-voltage lines in a swampy area within the Belize District.

Vonetta Burrell, BEL’s Customer Services and Relations Manager, provided further details on the event. “BEL teams were dispatched to investigate the cause and, upon tracing the transmission line, identified a transmission pole guy wire that made contact with high voltage lines,” Burrell said.

Power was progressively restored to the affected customers between 6:30 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. that Friday evening.

BEL has also reassured the public that synchronization with Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) was being finalized to fully restore the energy supply mix. They have assured customers that this process should not cause any further interruptions in service, which is welcome news, especially during this Christmas season.