Electricity bills are climbing, and so are the complaints. BEL confirms that more customers are challenging their bills now than during the same period in previous years. Today, the company and the Ministry of Public Utilities spent two hours explaining the spike. Their answer: hotter weather is pushing consumers to use more power. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Lynn Young
Lynn Young, Executive Chairman, BEL
“It increases because when the dry season kicks in and heat kicks in, a lot of electricals burn more electricity, significantly more.”
Why are so many Belizeans seeing sharp increases in their electricity bills? BEL Executive Chairman Lynn Young took on that question today alongside Public Utilities Minister Michel Chebat and CEO Dr. Leroy Almendarez, as the company moved to address mounting consumer concerns.
Lynn Young
“We have had a couple that like I said, especially the ones that look very high, where there were arrears on the bill that customers were unaware of. We have had that situation. We have also had a situation where we changed meters so the previous meter, the meter reader, was not reading the meter accurately. So, let’s say the meter is saying the total accumulation is thirty-six thousand kWh, but on record we have that the person used up to thirty-four thousand. So, when we changed the meter and it picked up the correct reading, there was a jump in the bill. So, we found that to happen.”
BEL says there is no single reason why some electricity bills have suddenly jumped. Executive Chairman Lynn Young pointed to unpaid balances, incorrect meter readings and, in some cases, meter tampering. But he repeatedly returned to one main explanation: hotter temperatures are forcing household appliances and electronic devices to work harder and consume more power.
Lynn Young
“I am a mechanical engineer, and I know the extra effort by these compressors burns a lot of electricity. So, an AC for that kind of temperature difference might burn fifty or sixty percent more energy that it normally would burn for the same period of time, for the same temperature. So, the AC and the refrigerator will do that to you. We will all use our fans more and take more showers. So, you find that your pump is working more and then things like computer and routers, a lot of electrical equipment has little fans in them. So, when the external temperature is hot, then these little fans are working more. If you go and do work in the hot midday sun, you get far more tired and sweat more than when you do it in the cool weather. When it comes to burning energy, equipment and people, burn more energy when it’s hot.”
Hotter weather may explain the higher bills, but it does not make them easier to pay. With some consumers owing hundreds or thousands more, will the government intervene?
Michel Chebat
Michel Chebat, Minister of Public Utilities
“People are complaining that they are facing difficulties to pay these electric bills and it is a reality. And like I said earlier, government is not deaf tone and we are working to see what we can do to alleviate this. We have done a lot of things to try to help reduce the cost of living and burden that people are facing.”
For families already stretching every dollar, the bigger concern is how much more they can afford. As temperatures rise, are power bills becoming simply too hot to handle? Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
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