By Belize Live News Staff: Belize Electricity Limited customers will see a new line item on their August bill, and it is worth understanding before it lands.
The charge is called the Cost of Power Adjustment, or COPA. For August 2026 the Public Utilities Commission approved it at 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour.
Here is why it exists. Over the past six months, what BEL actually paid to purchase power ran 4.3 cents per kilowatt hour above the reference cost the PUC had approved. Rather than passing that full gap on at once, the PUC has capped monthly adjustments at 1.5 cents in either direction.
That cap works both ways. If the cost of power falls, the adjustment can go down, hit zero, or even become a rebate on your bill. It is reviewed and approved monthly.
Households on the Social Rate are completely exempt from COPA, and the charge does not attract GST.
BEL will submit verified operational and financial data to the PUC each month for review.
How much of a difference will this make on your bill?
