Venezuela to begin rationing electricity
This appears to be a problem not with supply but rather with poorly maintained grid.
Venezuela will soon begin rationing electricity in several regions because of recurring power outages, the country’s energy minister said Wednesday.
Ali Rodriguez said he has ordered authorities to start scheduling rolling blackouts in affected regions and informing residents when they will be implemented. He did not provide details or say how many of Venezuela’s 24 states would be affected.
The plan was presented three days after Venezuelan officials announced measures aimed at saving electricity. They say power consumption must be reduced by 10 percent and have warned that hefty surcharges will be imposed on consumers who don’t reduce usage.
Venezuela has experienced three major blackouts in the past three months.
The most recent outages hit western Venezuela last week, affecting several states along the border with Colombia and Venezuela’s second-largest city, Maracaibo.