Energy crisis in Venezuela

Venezuela has experienced a marked deficit in the generation of electrical energy. The immediate cause of the energy crisis was a prolonged drought that caused the water in the reservoir of the Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant to reach very low levels.[1] Although various measures were taken to overcome the crisis, one of the most controversial was the implementation of a program of electrical rationing throughout the country, except in the capital Caracas, which was ultimately officially suspended in June 2010, due to the recovery of reservoirs due to the rains, and not to interrupt the transmission of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[2] Power cuts have continued to occur in the interior of the country, although with less frequency and duration, this time driven by failures in other parts of the system.[3][4][5] The situation of "electrical emergency" decreed by the government on 21 December 2009 was suspended on 30 November 2010; however, on 14 May 2011, after the country experienced two national blackouts, the government of Hugo Chávez announced a temporary rationing plan and acknowledged that the electricity system continued to face "generation weaknesses" that they did not expect to surpass until end the year.[6][7]

The energy problem was widely politicized in Venezuela: in addition to the drought, the Chávez government also blamed wealthy sectors of the population of the crisis, assuring that they wasted electricity.[8][9] The Venezuelan opposition responded by holding the government itself responsible, accusing it of not having made the necessary investments to keep pace with the country's electricity consumption growth, as well as having neglected the electricity infrastructure, which was completely nationalized a few years before.[10][11]

According to United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the electricity crisis was one of the factors that contributed to the economic crisis that Venezuela experienced since 2009, which in turn is credited with giving way to the ongoing crisis in Venezuela.[12] Furthermore, this crisis also influenced the notable increase in votes that the Venezuelan opposition experienced in the 2010 parliamentary elections.[13][14]

  1. ^ "El Niño conditions return to affect weather". NBC News. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  2. ^ "Chávez ordenó suspender medidas de racionamiento eléctrico en Venezuela" [Chávez ordered the suspension of electricity rationing measures in Venezuela] (in Spanish). Terra. Agence France-Presse. 10 June 2010. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011.
  3. ^ García, Daniela (27 August 2010). "Ejecutivo se ve obligado a drenar agua en el Guri" [Executive is forced to drain water in the Guri]. La Verdad (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 November 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  4. ^ "Mayor embalse de Venezuela se recupera, aunque persiste el racionamiento" [Largest reservoir in Venezuela recovers, although rationing persists]. AméricaEconomía (in Spanish). 30 August 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  5. ^ Vargas, Andreína (31 August 2010). "Gobierno admite saturación de redes eléctricas en Oriente" [Government admits power grid saturation in Oriente]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  6. ^ "El fantasma del racionamiento eléctrico sobrevuela Venezuela" [The ghost of electric rationing overflies Venezuela]. Infobae (in Spanish). Associated Press. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Ministro Alí Rodríguez Araque alertó sobre un posible racionamiento eléctrico" [Minister Alí Rodríguez Araque warned of possible electric rationing]. Ciber Protesta Venezuela (in Spanish). 13 March 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  8. ^ "Chávez desea terminar con "derroche" de energía eléctrica en el país" [Chávez wants to end with "waste" of electricity in the country]. El Economista (in Spanish). 16 October 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  9. ^ "Chávez combate 'derroche' de agua y luz en Venezuela" [Chavez fights 'waste' of water and electricity in Venezuela]. Diario Expreso (in Spanish). 1 November 2009. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  10. ^ "Crisis energética acosa a gobierno venezolano" [Energy crisis harasses the Venezuelan government]. El Universo (in Spanish). Reuters. 24 October 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  11. ^ "Venezuela anuncia inversión en energía" [Venezuela announces investment in energy] (in Spanish). BBC. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  12. ^ "2010, un mal año para la economía venezolana" [2010, a bad year for the Venezuelan economy]. Terra (in Spanish). 28 December 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  13. ^ "Hugo Chávez sufre un revés doloroso a dos años de las presidenciales" [Hugo Chávez suffers a painful setback two years before the presidential elections] (in Spanish). MSN. Agence France-Presse. 27 September 2010. Archived from the original on 30 September 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  14. ^ "Chávez sufre revés en elección legislativa de Venezuela" [Chávez suffers setback in Venezuela's legislative election]. Terra (in Spanish). Reuters. 27 September 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2011.

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