Commerce Comes To A Halt In Downtown Blackout

The entire downtown area of Belize City was immersed in a blackout for a solid 5 and half hour block today, as BEL attended to urgent maintenance work. BEL's transmission and distribution manager Mike Polonio explained that there was an urgent need for maintenance on a pole at the corner of Prince Street and West Canal. Earlier in the week, linesmen noticed that a cement pole at the corner was fractured after taking impact from a car bumper. It was teetering precariously - supported only by the electrical wires at the top. This dangerous situation forced BEL to effect the mid-week, middle of the day blackout. It was no small decision as the outage area covered a hefty chunk of the Southside from Mex Avenue up to Regent Street. Polonio explained that the pole carries main lines for feeders # 1 and #2 which service all of the downtown area.