By Belize Live News Staff: Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) announced the successful commissioning and load testing of the San Pedro Gas Turbine (San Pedro GT) last week, reaching its full rated capacity of 21 MW on Thursday, September 5th. This achievement comes as part of BEL’s ongoing efforts to enhance power generation on the island. However, shortly after, on Saturday, September 7th, a second failure of one of the three essential transformers occurred, preventing the San Pedro GT from delivering power to the grid.
Originally, the San Pedro GT was scheduled for full commissioning by early June. Unfortunately, during the commissioning process, one of the transformers failed. BEL moved quickly to source a replacement transformer, which was expected to be installed by the end of July. However, shipping delays caused by Hurricane Beryl postponed the arrival of the transformer, which finally reached San Pedro in early August.
Following this, BEL’s teams ensured a thorough and careful commissioning process for the three step-up transformers, including the replacement. The transformers were successfully commissioned by August 16th without any major issues. Despite these precautions, the replacement transformer failed on September 7th at around 1:00 a.m., setting back the integration of the gas turbine into the power grid.
BEL and its installation contractor are conducting an in-depth investigation into the failure and have already begun procuring a short-term solution — a new replacement transformer — which is expected to be installed before the end of the year. Until then, BEL will continue to monitor the power demand in San Pedro and implement its contingency plan to safeguard the submarine cable interconnection, which currently supplies power to the island.
BEL assures residents of San Pedro and the wider public that it remains committed to providing a reliable and safe power supply. The company will continue to update the public on developments as they work to resolve the situation and bring the San Pedro Gas Turbine online.
Stay tuned to Belize Live News for further updates.
