At the end of May, senior members of BEL's management disclosed that in order for Belize to become more energy-independent, they were exploring several projects under their Least-Cost Generation and Transmission Study.
That's an assessment and feasibility study to explore the best course of action which would create more sources of energy inside Belize. Well, according to the chairman, the rising Cost of Power is increasing the urgency on the proposals for solar farms, and the plan in which you, the consumer, can become a supplier to the national grid by installing solar panels on your home's rooftop.
Here's what he had to say on the concept of utility-scale solar, where independent producers can establish solar farms and sell their generated energy to BEL:
E. Andrew Marshalleck, SC - Chairman, BEL Board of Directors
"They're two different things you're talking about there. One, we're talking utility-scale solar. These are solar farms where the power from the solar panels is put directly onto the grid, and then that power is sold to households. And then you are also talking about distributive generation, which is when the homeowners and businesses are putting solar panels on their rooftop and feed it back into the grid. With regard to the former, that has to be part and parcel of our overall generation plan and our overall procurement systems for establishing those generating facilities. In the past that was controlled by the PUC, in that they put out a request for proposals, identified who was to do what, and then sent them over to BEL."
"It has never worked very well, and in fact, the track record shows that when it's done that there's very little is ever accomplished. So, we've been pushing for us to control making the requests and making selections and for PUC to approve that process rather than being central in it. The way it is now, some regulations have been proposed. Drafts have gone back and forth. We're hoping. We have been hoping that that gets settled very quickly. We both know what needs to be done to get these things off on rolling, because we do need to get them off on rolling because of the prices that you're enjoying now."
Daniel Ortiz
"Aren't going to last long."
E. Andrew Marshalleck
"I don't see how. What we want to see going forward are investments that carry themselves and that produce the cheapest rates to consumers possible. We have always pressed on our end for that, and when these projects are looked at closely, some of these ideals, some of these standards are not being met."
According to Marshalleck, there are also payment issues to work out if Belizeans support the proposal to become citizen solar suppliers. Here's that part of the discussion:
E. Andrew Marshalleck, SC - Chairman, BEL Board of Directors
"On distributive generation, solar on the rooftops and selling power, households selling power back onto the grid, regulations have been proposed by BEL. Again they're with the PUC for approval. Until those are approved, the environment on the rules governing hold-ups to take place has been settled. The primary consideration there, and it's a debate that's going on not only in Belize but also in the US, is the rate that should be paid to consumers for the power they put back on the grid from their rooftops. A lot of people think that they should get the retail rate, the same $0.40 that we charge retail. But, BEL's position is that what's applicable is the rate we get from our power producers, the wholesale rates. And so the issue of how you charge and how much is to be netted, there's also the issue of our capacity to charge for BEL. There's a cost to bill for keeping the grid available to those customers, even though it's not being used."
"So, those costs also have to be covered. Otherwise, for those people using it, their costs are increased by that activity. So, there are some regulatory issues, and they need to be ironed out. As I said, we've put forward proposals as to what we want to see work, and they're considering them. But things on the ground are moving, and people do want to engage in that activity, and so does BEL. So we do really need, as a matter of urgency, what rules we settle. So we all know how that's to work."
