As we enter the most active portion of the hurricane season, it is important to remember and observe the following safety tips:
- Keep your trees trimmed to a minimum of ten feet away from power lines to prevent outages. It is important to be safe while trimming your trees. Call BELCO at 295-5111 three weeks in advance to schedule a power shutdown during tree trimming.
- Always assume a downed wire is live. Never approach a downed wire, try to move it or touch it.
- Reporting outages: customers with AMI meters will already be logged as having an outage. Other customers are asked not to call to report an outage until BELCO has asked you to do so.
- On the restoration of power, it is prudent to use lights only and have voltages checked by qualified personnel before plugging-in sensitive and expensive equipment.
- Remember, before the onset of high winds, ensure you unplug any appliances, electronics or other sensitive equipment. While plug-in surge protectors protect against common, small surges, unplugging is the safest bet for lightning surges that may occur during a storm.
- Keep off the road to allow BELCO crews to safely work to restore power.
- If you are a medical priority customer, please speak to your doctor now about a plan in the case of a power outage from a storm. Unfortunately, electricity service cannot be guaranteed for the duration of the storm and you may need to make alternative arrangements.
2023 BELCO Scholarship Recipients
We are pleased to present our 2023 Scholarship Award Recipients. These 19 young Bermudians have received a combined value of $215,000 in scholarship funds. We wish them every success in their studies and look forward to their return to Bermuda to help build our sustainable future.
Our BELCO Annual Scholarship Programme honours our commitment to equip the leaders of tomorrow to advance beyond the leaders of today.
To learn more, visit: BELCO Scholarship Recipients 2023 | BELCO
To watch the video of our Scholarship Awards Ceremony, visit: 2023 BELCO Scholarship Awards Ceremony – YouTube
In The News
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Magazine 2024
We remain committed to creating and supporting a diverse, equitable and inclusive company culture. With a team of 234 employees, we strive to continuously evolve our DE&I approach to ensure every team member knows that they are valued; received fair and equitable treatment; has a voice that can be heard; and understands they belong.
To learn more, see our article in Bermuda Media’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Magazine: Insight into BELCO’s DEI Culture | BELCO
Building Bermuda Magazine 2024
For the past 117 years, BELCO has been proudly powering the home and businesses of Bermuda. During that time, much has changed; consumption of electricity has grown exponentially, and our system has been continually improved and adapted to meet the needs of our customers, always working to make the system safer, more economical and more reliable.
To learn more, see our article in Bermuda Media’s Building Bermuda Magazine: BELCO’s Energy Evolution for the Future | BELCO
BELCO Signs on as a Signature Learning Partner
BELCO President Wayne Caines said, “At BELCO we have a long history of supporting students and young Bermudians through scholarships, internships and apprenticeships. We are thrilled to announce our latest partnership with the BPSS to introduce our students to the opportunities in the electric utility sector. As we work towards our goal of Net Zero there will be many exciting and enriching opportunities for Bermudians to be a part of our sustainable energy future.”
Learn More: BELCO Signs On As Signature Learning Partner – Bernews
Digital Meter Form (DMF) Project
The DMF Project involves managing the transition away from the use of paper meter service slips to a Digital Meter Form (DMF) which benefits the environment, honours our commitment to become a more sustainable company as well as benefitting the customer in terms of reducing estimated meter readings. The DMF Project is one of several ongoing initiatives to become a more sustainable company.
Learn More: Digital Meter Form Project | BELCO
Important Reminders
Trim Trees. Prevent Outages.
Did you know that falling branches cause most storm-related power outages? Trim your trees at least 10ft from power lines to reduce storm-related power outages.
Call 295-5111 or email three weeks in advance to schedule a power shutdown so you can trim safely.
For more information, visit: Storms | BELCO
Call Before You Dig
To ensure safety and continuity of power, we encourage customers and contractors to call before they dig or trench when in the vicinity of underground BELCO cables.
Call 295-5111 at least one week prior to digging or trenching to schedule a site visit. Our team will locate and mark underground cables. This is a free service.
For more information, visit: Call Before You Dig | BELCO
Energy Efficiency: Monitor Your Consumption
Advanced meters provide you with relevant data about your household energy usage, putting you in control of the electricity you use. Every 24 hours, your advanced meter sends a report to your account portal on the BELCO website so you can see your usage from the past 24 hours. This data is separated by hour, which helps you to see how and when you are using electricity.
BELCO Energy Efficiency Tips will help you save the environment, save energy, and save money!
To learn more, visit: Energy Efficiency: AMI Meter Usage | BELCO
Living Sustainably
Being careful with our water consumption has been ingrained into Bermudians over the past 400 years as we have been reliant on the weather as our natural source of water. When you combine the water-thriftiness that many Bermuda households practice with the climate research, our rainwater collection system makes Bermuda rooftops not just practical, but sustainable as a good, clean renewable resource, as well.
Our innovative method of collecting rainwater was pioneeered over 400 years ago. Our roofs have a special design where the limestone they’re made from creates the “steps” of a shallow pyramid. This slows down the flow of rainwater as it falls and then it’s funneled into an underground tank where it is stored until use. The white colour serves a special purpose, too. It reflects ultra-violet light, which helps to purify the water as it’s being collected. For the system to work, 80% of the roof needs to have adequate guttering and the storage tanks must have a capacity of at least 100 gallons for every 10 feet of roof space.
The limestone roofs also help to keep Bermuda buildings cool. Not only is this resourceful but also good for the environment. Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory of California have shown that a 1,000 square foot area of a rooftop painted white has about the same one-time impact on curbing global warming as cutting 10 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Connect & Join the Conversation
We would love to connect with you. Our online platforms aim to keep you informed of what we are doing at the plant!
BELCO Facebook: @BELCOBermuda
BELCO Twitter: @BELCOBermuda
BELCO Instagram: @BELCOBermuda
BELCO LinkedIn: BELCO Bermuda
BELCO Youtube: BELCO Bermuda
And don’t forget our website is a hub of information on all things BELCO – belco.bm!