The Continued Crisis in Venezuela’s Electricity Sector

More than a week ago, Venezuela’s state-owned utility Corporación Eléctrica Nacional (Corpoelec) announced it was carrying out "temporary plans of electric load management" in at least eight states of the country. To put it plainly, Aragua, Carabobo, Lara, Portuguesa, Guárico, Táchira, Nueva Esparta and Zulia – perhaps the states with the hottest temperatures subject to electricity rationing during peak hours (noon and night.) The argument is that the heat wave affecting the country in the past few weeks has triggered demand for electricity, which coupled with the unavailability of a few power stations in those states, make it necessary to manage the electric load. More…