Belize foresees increasing energy curtailment from Mexico

Energy supply curtailments to Belize from Mexico may increase in the future, according to Belize Electricity (BEL).

The Central American country’s utility made the comment following a dispatch shortfall in recent days from the neighboring country’s federal power company CFE.

“The Yucatan peninsula, including Mexico's popular tourist destinations, has been experiencing rapid economic growth, leading to a significant increase in energy demand, similar to the trends observed in Belize,” BEL said.

It adds that “unprecedented growth in consumption, changing climate conditions, and delays in getting generation sources online, in both Mexico and Belize, are now impacting our ability to meet demand.”

To address this deficit, BEL envisions the addition of 60MW of utility-scale solar, supported by 33MW of gas-fired generation and 40MW of battery energy storage.

Source: BEL

The utility’s 2024-28 roadmap (available in the Documents box in the top-right corner of the screen) was presented at a public hearing this month and is under review by the Public Utilities Commission.

The plan outlines an investment of BZ$505mn (US$250mn) to expand, reinforce, and modernize the grid.

BEL owns the grid and is the only entity authorized to acquire electricity in bulk and retail it to customers. The transmission and distribution network stretches 2,077 miles and is supplied by local independent power producers, as well as CFE.

The utility serves over 110,000 customers, supplying a peak demand of 127MW (October 2023) and with total electricity use of 659,273MWh in 2023 or 97% of the country’s offtake.

Also read Belize readying power grid expansion amid demand uptick

Source: BEL