Utila News

The electricity rate in Utila, Bay Islands, will rise from L11.20 to L14.95 per kilowatt-hour on October 1, a 33.5% increase that residents say will strain household budgets; a public assembly is planned for Tuesday to address concerns.

The electricity regulator CREE will hold a public hearing on September 22 for Utila Power Company users to review and comment on a proposed new interim rate structure for the island's isolated power system.

Chepes Beach on Utila has been selected for Corona Beach 100 – World's Best Beaches 2026, an international ranking that positions Honduras's Bay Islands among the world's premier destinations and highlights its marine ecosystems and natural attractions.

Utila's municipality held talks with South Korean companies to explore cooperation on renewable energy, water, sanitation, and environmental protection, including a feasibility study for a solar power system on the island.

Olvin Javier Velásquez Maldonado, 40, was sentenced to more than four years in prison for conspiring to transport 24 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a boat traveling from Utila to Louisiana in 2022; his fingerprints on the drug packaging provided key evidence.

Utila Municipality has begun the second stage of repairs to the airport road, a L8.5 million (about $340,000) project funded by the Tourism Free Zone that includes resurfacing with concrete and is expected to improve mobility and safety on the island's main access route.

The first swamper iguanas (Ctenosaura bakeri) of the 2026 breeding season have hatched on Utila, advancing conservation efforts for the critically endangered species found only in the island's mangroves; hatchlings will be reared at a research station before reintroduction to the wild.

Health authorities confirmed a sixth measles case in Honduras in 2026—a 29-year-old Italian citizen who contracted the virus while traveling in Guatemala and later arrived on the island of Utila in the Bay Islands; officials are conducting epidemiological surveillance and urging vaccination.