Public Utilities

Electricity

With its corporate headquarters located in Belize City, the Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) is the dominant provider of electricity in the country of Belize. Belize, like the United States uses 110 Volts A.C.

Services provided:

Premise Inspection
New Connections to premise
Relocation of Service
Premise Disconnection – closing of account – refund of deposit
Disconnection – nonpayment of arrears – reconnection
Temporary Connection (T/C)
Temporary Power supply
Temporary Lighting – streamers, outlets, etc
Compensation for claims of damaged goods, equipment, appliances
Special Rereading of Meter – Customer Benefit
Meter Changes – customer request
Relocation of Meter
Cost estimate – rural premises
Service Upgrade
Tree-trimming (if power lines are affected)
Work services – Installation of HV, LVlines
Installation of Transformer Accessories
Utility Trouble Service Maintenance

Consumption Rates

Over 75 per cent of residential customers consume below 500 kWh per month. Changes to the commercial tariff structure arealso being proposed, which will result in a 2 per cent average increase in rates for customers under this category. For industrial customers, BEL is proposing to remove the off-peak and peak charges and replace these changes with the flat rate per kWh as noted in Table 1 of the proposed Tariff Schedule below:

Table 1: Proposed Rates for Tariff Classes

Tariff Class	Consumption	Current Tariff ($)	Proposed Tariff($)
Social Rate Customers	Flat Rate	4.00	4.00
Social Rate Customers	0000- 0050 kWh	0.26	0.26

Residential Customers	Service Charge	10.00
	Flat Rate	–	5.00
	0000- 0050 kWh	0.29	0.35
	0051- 0200 kWh	0.41	0.44
	Above 0200 kWh	0.46	0.47

Commercial Customers	Service Charge	100.00	100.00
	00,000- 10,000 kWh	0.44	0.45
	10,000- 20,000 kWh	0.43	0.44
	Above20,000 kWh	0.42	0.43

Industrial 1 Customers	Service Charge	100.00	100.00
	Demand Charge per KVA/Month	35.00	35.00
	Off-peak energy rate per kWh	0.32	0.33
	Peak energy (6p.m. 9 p.m.Mon – Fri)	0.46	0.33

Industrial 2 Customers	Service Charge	100.00	100.00
	Demand Charge per KVA/Month	21.00	21.00
	Off-Peak Energy Rate per kWh	0.26	0.28
	Peak Energy Rate per kWh	0.46	0.28

Street Lights	Street Lighting	0.52	0.55

Residential (Include small commercial less than 2,500 kWh/ Month)
Commercial (Commercial greater than 2,500 kWh/Month)
Industrial 1 (Using greater than 30,000 kWh/ Month)
Industrial 2 (Avg.Peak Load of 1.5 MW & Greater)

For Further Information Contact:
Belize Electricity Limited
2 1/2 Northern Highway
Belize City, Belize
Telephone: +(501) 227-0954
Fax: +(501) 223-0891
Email: pr@bel.com.bz

Telecommunications

Background

Belize’s telecommunications sector is regulated in accordance with the Telecoms Act 2002, the act enacted in August of 2002, liberalizes telecommunications market in Belize and gives responsibility for regulating to the Public Utilities Commission which was established in 2000.

Current providers in the market are Belize Telemedia Limited the incumbent and full service provider and Speednet, who was duly licensed as a full service provider in August of 2003. The entities operate under various interconnection agreements which allow uninterrupted services to customers of both companies. In August of 2009, the Government of Belize nationalized Belize Telemedia Limited, and the government owed entity now competes directly with Speednet. As a result of the nationalization process, the interconnection agreements are again subject to negotiations.

Both BTL and Speednet boast a full range of products and services including basic telephone services, national and international calls, prepaid services, cellular services via GSM 1900 megahertz (Mhz) and 3G Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 respectively, international cellular roaming, fixed wireless, dial-up and internet, high-speed DSL, internet service, and national and international data networks.

Sector Performance

The data below indicates the telecoms sector performance in terms of access between 2000 and 2007.

Table 1: Sector Performance (Access)

Access(per 100 people)	2000	2007
Telephone lines	14.3	11.2
Mobile cellular subscriptions	6.7	38.9
Internet subscribers	1.7	2.6
Personal computers	12	14.8

Source: The World Bank

Access

The country code, 501, can be dialed before the number of your party to access Belize.

Rates

BTL Rates| Smart Rates

Water

Belize Water Services

The Belize Water Services (BWS) Is Belize’s water and sewage utility that serves approximately 44,000 customers with a total average water demand of roughly 150 million US gallons per month.

Current Water Consumption Rates

The following water consumption rates are in effect since May 1st 2005.

Table 1: Belize City and Belmopan Sewer Zone

Qty Used Gal	Rate Per Gallon ($BzD)	Charge ($BzD)
0-1000	n/a	9.23
1001- 2000	0.01589	25.12
2001- 3000	0.01743	42.55
3001- 4000	0.01845	61.00
4001- 5000	0.01948	80.48
5001- 6000	0.0205	100.95
6001- 7000	0.02101	121.99
7001- 8000	0.02153	143.52
Over 8000	0.02204	n/a
Source: Belize Water Services Limited.

Table 2: Water Only Areas Country-Wide
(Areas without Sewer System, excluding San Pedro)

Qty Used US Gal	Rate Per 1000 gal	Rate Per Gallon	Max Charge
0-1000	n/a	n/a	7.69
1001- 2000	12.30	0.01230	19.99
2001- 3000	13.33	0.01333	33.32
3001- 4000	13.84	0.01384	47.16
4001- 5000	14.35	0.01435	61.51
5001- 6000	15.38	0.01538	76.89
6001- 7000	16.40	0.01640	93.29
7001- 8000	16.91	0.01691	110.20
Over 8000	17.43	0.01743	n/a
Source: Belize Water Services Limited.

Table 3: San Pedro, Ambergris Caye

Qty Used US Gal	Rate Per 1000 gal	Rate Per Gallon	Max Charge
0-100	n/a	n/a	22.55
1001- 2000	26.65	0.02665	49.20
2001- 3000	28.70	0.02870	77.90
3001- 4000	30.76	0.03075	108.65
4001- 5000	32.80	0.03280	141.45
5001- 6000	38.95	0.03895	180.40
6001- 7000	46.13	0.04613	226.53
7001- 8000	51.25	0.05125	277.78
Over 8000	56.38	0.05638	n/a
Source: Belize Water Service Limited.

Table 4: Deposit Charges

Type of Deposit	Amount
Security Deposit – Residential	50.00
Security Deposit Commercial (all areas except San Pedro)	200.00
Security Deposit Commercial (San Pedro)	300.00

Proposed Changes in Tariffs

Service Charges

Service Description	Fee
Reconnection Fee (all areas)	25.00
Transfer fee (all areas)	20.00
Water Connection Fee Residential (all areas except San Pedro)	85.00
Water Connection Fee Residential (San Pedro )	127.00
Water Connection Fee Commercial (all areas except San Pedro)	variable
Water Connection Fee Commercial (San Pedro)	637.50
Sewer Connection Fee Residential (all areas except San Pedro)	100.00
Sewer Connection Fee Residential (San Pedro)	150.00
Sewer Connection Fee Commercial (all areas)	variable
Water Infrastructure Fee	150.00
Sewer Infrastructure Fee	1695.00

For more information on BWSL and its services visit www.bws.bz

The Belize Water Services Limited made a submission on 1 October 2009 to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for a Full Tariff Review Proceeding (FTRP) for the determination of Rates and Tariffs and a Business Plan to be approved for the Full Tariff Period (FTP), which runs from April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2015. The submission had requested for a 25% increase in tariffs.

The PUC has approved a 10.6% rate increase and a revised Business Plan for Belize Water Services Limited in its Initial Decision in the Full Tariff Review Proceeding. The new proposed rates are depicted in Tables 5 and 6.

Belize Water Services (BWS)
Approved Water and Sewer Tariffs, Fees and Charges for Full Tariff Period (FTP) April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2015
Service Classification:	Water Only	Water and Sewer	Water and Sewer
Branches:	Mainland	Belize, Belmopan	San Pedro
Consumption Blocks:
0-1000	8.50	10.21	24.94
1001- 2000	13.60	17.57	29.47
2001- 3000	14.74	19.27	34.74
3001- 4000	15.30	20.4	34.00
4001- 5000	15.87	21.54	36.27
5001- 6000	17.01	22.67	43.07
6001- 7000	18.14	23.23	51.01
7001- 8000	18.70	23.81	56.67
Over 8000	19.27	24.37	62.35
Minimum Bill for Consumption less than 1000 US Gallons	8.5	10.2	24.94

Service Classification		Max Charge
Reconnection fee (Belize City & Belmopan)		25.00
Reconnection fee (Other Areas excluding San Pedro)		25.00
Reconnection fee (San Pedro)		25.00
Transferof Account		20.00
Transfer of Service (location)		20.00
Transfer New Connection		20.00
Water Connection Fee	Residential	85.00
	Commercial	85.00
	Government	85.00
	Essentials Services	85.00
	Others	85.00
Water Connection Fee (San Pedro)	Residential	127.50
	Commercial	637.50
	Government	637.50
	Essentials Services	637.50
	Others	637.50
Sewer Connection Fee (BelizeCity & Belmopan)	Residential	100.00
	Commercial	variable
	Government	variable
	Essentials Services	variable
	Others	variable
Sewer Connection Fee (SanPedro)	Residential	150.00
	Commercial	variable
	Government	variable
	Essentials Services	variable
	Others	variable
Water Infrastructure Fee	Residential	150.00
Water Infrastructure Fee	All others	150.00
Sewer Infrastructure	Residential	1695.00
Sewer Infrastructure	All others	150.00
Security Deposit	Residential	50.00
	Commercial	200.00
	Government	200.00
	Essentials Services	200.00
	Others	200.00
Security Deposit (San Pedro)	Residential	50.00
	Commercial	300.00
	Government	300.00
	Essentials Services	300.00
	Others	300.00
Source: Public Utilities Commission

Delivery of Final Decision

The PUC is expected to deliver its Final Decision on March 10, 2010, if there is agreement between BWSL and the PUC on the appointment of an Independent Expert if required; or on March 23, 2010 if an Independent Expert has to be appointed by the International Chamber of Commerce.

For Further Information Contact:
Belize Water Services Ltd.
7 Central American Blvd.
Telephone: +501-222-4757
Fax: +501-222-4759
http://www.bws.bz

How can we help you?

Contact us at the The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry office or submit a inquiry online.
If you prefer speaking to someone, please call:
Tel: +501-223-5330 / 5331

Contacts