by Kristen Ku
SAN PEDRO, Ambergris Caye, Thurs. May 2, 2024
San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, experienced an extended and unexpected power outage starting from 10:20 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1st, and which lasted until the early hours of the following day.
According to Belize Electricity Limited (BEL), the outage began when a major component of the single transformer at the Maskall Substation failed, affecting the entire island.
BEL’s rapid response teams managed to prevent a total collapse of the transformer system, potentially preventing an even longer period without power. To restore electricity, BEL deployed a mobile substation transformer from the Westlake Substation at Mile 8 on the George Price Highway to replace the damaged unit at Maskall.
“Yesterday, early in the morning, we started to encounter voltage fluctuations at our Maskall Substation which supplies San Pedro; and when we further investigated on site, we found that there was leakage and there was smoking of one of the major components of the transformer. We had to move quickly to protect the transformer, and we had to drop the entire circuit that feeds San Pedro,” stated the Chief Executive Officer of BEL, John Mencias.
Despite efforts to hasten the process, power was not restored to the island until around 12:48 a.m. on Thursday, May 2nd, an hour after the initially projected time of 11:30 p.m. on May 1st.
“We realized very quickly that we could not do anything about fixing that transformer, and we moved quickly to deploy a mobile transformer that we have in place to the Maskall Substation. We started to move right away; it took us about 2.5 to 3 hours to dismantle, and it took us another 5 hours to transport that,” Mencias added.
This delay left residents and businesses without electricity for over 13 hours, causing significant disruptions. Residents then took to social media to express their frustrations.
One local resident and teacher shared their ordeal and the impact it had on their daily life and work. “As a resident and teacher, the blackout affected me badly. Current went around 10:00 a.m., and the heat was too strong, plus there was no water. I couldn’t even complete my work and grades since there was no electricity and all my devices shut down. We couldn’t light candles, because if we did it would be hotter. It was a terrible experience!! We were told electricity would be restored around 11:30 p.m., but it came back at 12:30 a.m. today,” the resident told Amandala.
To make matters worse, in a subsequent press release issued today, BEL detailed additional power interruptions scheduled for the next 24 hours across various parts of the country, including Orange Walk, Corozal, San Ignacio, Dangriga, Belize City, Ladyville, Independence, Belmopan, and Punta Gorda.
These interruptions are a part of load-shedding measures required by ongoing upgrades to BEL’s power generation capabilities.
BEL explained that the upgrades include the installation of a new gas turbine in Westlake, which is currently offline but expected to resume operation next week. Additionally, a new gas turbine is being installed in San Pedro, anticipated to be operational by the end of May. These enhancements are aimed at improving BEL’s capacity to meet electricity demand independently of supplies from CFE, especially during peak periods.
BEL informs that the demand in San Pedro will continue to be managed despite its new transformer, as it too has reached its capacity limit.
