Theft of Underground Cables Causes Extensive Damage to BEL’s Distribution System in Gales Point
Unearthed underground lines
Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) reports a 15-hour power outage in the rural Belize District following another incident of theft. At about 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 12, thieves apparently attempting to steal copper wires, pulled out and extensively damaged underground aluminum cables on the Coastal Road near Gales Point Manatee Village.
BEL dispatched work crews to the area who worked throughout Wednesday, October 13, to construct temporary overhead lines. Power supply was restored to Gales Point Manatee Village at 2:48 p.m. yesterday.
Works to replace the damaged infrastructure and reconstruct the underground system will continue through to the end of the week. These works are not expected to require any planned power outage for customers in the area.
BEL is asking anyone with information on this incident to contact the Police Department or call BEL at 0-800-235-2273 or 0-800-BEL-CARE or call Crime Stoppers at 0-800-922-8477.
Underground lines were ripped from their connection to equipment on poles
An armada of BEL workers invaded the island over the weekend as a scheduled power outage took place on Sunday morning in order for the Belize Electricity Limited linesmen to conduct necessary maintenance and replace infrastructure at the San Pedro and Maskall Substations.
All of San Pedro was without power from 6:30am to about 2:15pm on Sunday, October 3, although the outage was scheduled only to midday. Fortunately a cool northerly breeze was blowing and the day was bright and beautiful – not too uncomfortable for a power outage.
Work Continues in North Ambergris
BEL is also commencing a project to rebuild the distribution system in the North San Pedro area from Boca del Rio to Costa Maya. The aging infrastructure in this area has caused several power failures over the years, which have been of great inconvenience to their customers. BEL says that once they have completed this project, the frequency of power outages will be reduced and the quality of power supply improved, as the integrity of the system will be restored.
As this project gets underway, area residents and property owners are advised that the Company will be carrying out construction activities in the area, which will include land clearing along the power line path and installation of supporting infrastructure. BEL says that it will maintain open communication with property owners to ensure that they are kept informed of work progress.
Belize Electricity Limited advises its customers in San Pedro Town that the supply of electricity will be interrupted from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 2010. Areas to be affected:All of Pescador Drive, Elliot Sub Division and the San Pedrito Area. BEL apologizes for the inconvenience caused but this outage is necessary for the company to carry out maintenance works on the distribution system in the area.
Intermittent power outages were experienced countrywide between 8:14 p.m. and 9:48 p.m. on Friday, April 16, 2010 following several trips on the national grid. Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) has since identified the cause of those trips as a broken insulator on the 115 kV transmission line between the Maskall substation in the Belize District and the Buena Vista Substation in the Corozal District.
BEL work crews are currently carrying out repairs to the damaged infrastructure. As a result, the Northern Zone, which includes the entire Orange Walk District, Corozal District and San Pedro Town, will experience a 30-minute power outage at about 2:00 p.m. today, upon completion of works.
Scheduled Outages for San Pedro:
* Tuesday, April 20 - from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon. Areas to be affected: All that area including Angel Coral Street, Coconut Drive, Sea Grape Drive, San Marcos Area, DFC Area, Escalante Subdivision, Holiday Lands and Boca Ciega Area.
* From 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. -Areas to be affected: All of Barrier Reef Drive, Angel Coral Drive, San Marcos Area, DFC Area and a portion of Sea Grape Drive.
* Wednesday, April 21 - from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon. Areas to be affected: All that area from Laguna Drive to Boca del Rio including North San Pedro and Pescador Drive.
BEL apologizes for any inconvenience caused by these outages and assures customers that the Company continues to work diligently at minimizing interruptions. These outagesare necessary for the company to carry out maintenance works on the distribution system in the area.
- Press Release - At 2:46 p.m. on Sunday, March 21, 2010, power supply was lost to the national grid. Work crews were dispatched to the field immediately and identified a burnt crossarm on the 115 kV transmission line in the vicinity of San Estevan Village in Orange Walk as the cause of the power outage.
Power supply was restored to sections of Belmopan, San Ignacio, Belize City and Ladyville within 25 minutes to one hour; however the system collapsed again at 3:57 p.m.
By 4:42 p.m. power supply was restored to Dangriga, Independence, Punta Gorda and sections of San Ignacio, Ladyville and Belmopan; by 5:08 p.m. power supply was restored to Orange Walk and Corozal; by 6:23 p.m. power supply was restored to Belize City and at 8:13 p.m. power supply was restored to San Pedro Town.
In addition to mobilizing work crews and equipment, BEL also had to carry out repairs to a malfunctioning switch at the Buena Vista Substation.
BEL work crews completed replacement of the burnt crossarm at 7:30 p.m. and while in the process of restoring the transmission line between Buena Vista and Maskall, power supply was lost to the national grid at 8:00 p.m. Within 17 minutes power was fully restored to all parts of the country. BEL continues to investigate the cause of the burnt crossarm.
BEL apologizes for any inconvenience caused by these outages. For more information call 0-800-BEL-CARE (0-800-235-2273). (END)
Belize Electricity Limited advises its customers in San Pedro Town that the supply of electricity will be temporarily interrupted over the weekend during the following dates and times:
*Saturday, July 25, from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon - Areas to be affected: Angel Coral Street, Coconut Drive, Sea Grape Drive, Holiday Land, Mosquito Coast and Boca Ciega.
*Sunday, July 26, 2009, all of Barrier Reef Drive from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Vehicular traffic will be restricted on all of Barrier Reef Drive while the Company conducts works to upgrade the distribution system in the area. BEL recommends that pedestrians avoid the area during this time. Pedestrians who may need to traffic the area are asked to exercise extreme caution.
Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) has sent out a press release stating that it currently has sufficient generation in place to meet the country’s energy demand over the next few days. Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) advised that following the inspection of the Merida III generating unit, they have determined that the unit needs to be taken out of service until the middle of August. In the meantime, CFE is able to supply Belize with approximately 15 per cent of its energy demand. However, the cost of power from CFE at this time is much higher than normal and BEL will only take power from CFE as a last option.
In addition to CFE, BEL is currently taking approximately 16 megawatts (MW) of power from Belize Aquaculture Limited and 32.5 MW from Belize Electric Company Limited. Hydro Maya remains off line, while repairs are being carried out to its generating equipment. The nozzle and the tools for the repairs to the Gas Turbine have arrived and BEL plans to complete works on the Gas Turbine by July 24, 2009.If any planned power outages are necessary, BEL will provide customers with advanced notice, where possible.
Belize’s Public Utilities Commission has warned consumers of electricity to brace for more frequent and perhaps more prolonged power outages in the weeks ahead. The primary cause of the problem is the break-off of supply from Mexico, from the Comisión Federal de Electricidad. But adding to the crisis is the failure of the BEL Gas Turbine plant at Mile 8 to produce power to relieve the emergency.
Here on Ambergris Caye, we already see an arsenal of portable generators already up and running behind the old BEL power plant. We only hope that these will be enough to sustain power on the island and not cause multiple power outages, as these can be detrimental to our tourism industry that is already in “slow motion”.
Already announced for this weekend are scheduled power outages for Saturday and Sunday:
Saturday, July 18, 2009 will be Feeder 1 which is all of Barrier Reef Dr. This will commence at 6:00am until 12:00Noon
Sunday, July 19, 2009 will be Feeder 4 which is all of Angel Coral Dr from Hol Chan Office, Coconut Dr., to the end of the line @ Boca Ciega. This will commence at 6:00am until 12:00Noon
