The entire country fell under a blackout yesterday at fifteen minutes to three. And it was all caused by what BEL says is a “a burnt cross arm on the 115 kV transmission line” near San Estevan Village in Orange Walk. Power was restored to sections of Belmopan, San Ignacio, Belize City and Ladyville within an hour but by 4:00 pm, the national grid had again collapsed – and everywhere from Corozal to Punta Gorda was under a blackout.
Power was gradually restored with Belize City coming up at 6:23 and San Pedro was the last to come on at 8:13 p.m. In addition to mobilizing work crews and equipment, BEL also had to carry out repairs to a malfunctioning switch at the Buena Vista Substation.
There was another national blackout at 8:00 – as BEL work crews completed replacement of the burnt cross-arm. That one lasted a merciful 17 minutes.
