In mid-May at its Annual General Meeting, the Belize Electricity Limited declared that its profits had plunged by five million dollars for the 2010 financial year and that it made only three point four million dollars. At that juncture, B.E.L. declared that because of the declining profits, it has not been able to meet loan obligations or pay dividends. Well, tonight there is a strong belief that B.E.L. might not meet its payments to the Comision Federal de Electricidad, the Mexican power supplier from whom it buys most of its electricity. If the country's sole provider of electricity can't pay its bill, then the government is obligated to step in as a guarantor for a credit line with the C.F.E. If that fails and C.F.E. cuts power supply, then B.E.L. could be forced to initiate a rotation system to meet the power supply for the country. The Public Utilities Commission, we understand, is attempting to broker a deal to stave off the blackouts. B.E.L.'s C.E.O., Lyn Young, is away and could not be reached for comment.

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