Belize faces energy insecurity following nationwide blackout

A nationwide blackout in Belize occurred after a sudden drop in electricity supply from Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) around 7:30 p.m. The disruption caused the national grid to collapse, as local generation was unable to meet the evening demand. At the time of the outage, local sources were producing approximately 103 megawatts against a demand of 122 megawatts, leaving a 19-megawatt shortfall.

Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) reported that power was gradually restored after CFE resumed supply around 11:00 p.m. BEL warned that further load shedding may be necessary due to limited domestic energy resources. Contributing factors include seasonal conditions reducing renewable energy output, maintenance on generating units, and potential drought conditions affecting water levels.

BEL Executive Chairman Lynn Young previously noted that the utility has applied to the Public Utilities Commission for emergency generation to mitigate risks associated with CFE supply fluctuations and environmental factors.