B-E-L AND P-U-C AT IT AGAIN

November 03, 2008

Belize Electricity Limited and the Public Utilities Commission continue to disagree with each other over what BEL is required to do under the Electricity Act and how the PUC interprets the governing act. Today BEL fired back at the PUC again saying that the company is not, “contravening the conditions of its license,” but rather the commission has refused to allow the company to secure a reasonable rate of return and in turn provide the best possible service with the least cost to the customers. The company says that currently, they are experiencing, “severe financial difficulties” and the commissions refusal to acknowledge a rate increase in its final decision earlier this year has left the company no choice but to charge customers the full cost of service installation upfront with refunds to be provided as other customers connect to the line extension. These circumstances according to the company have naturally impacted their approach to new connections and line extensions. BEL says this is just one of the necessary serious steps that they had to take to ensure its financial position and maintain its operations.  BEL says that they have lodge a complaint with the Supreme Court.

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