Why do the regions of Venezuela suffer blackouts of up to 12 hours a day while the national electrical system is close to collapse?
In this episode of EN Detalle, a podcast from El Nacional, we unravel, based on a report by our journalist Luis de Jesús, the structural causes behind the severe energy rationing that punishes the country.
With the technical evaluations of engineers and specialists Víctor Poleo (former vice minister of Energy and Mines) and José Aguilar (international consultant), we analyze the 3,000 megawatt gap that paralyzes the country, the impact of the untouchable demand of the oil industry, the deterioration in the Guri Hydroelectric Power Plant after the forced unification of Corpoelec and the viability of the recent official announcements of power incorporation.
Key points:
• The 3,000 MW deficit: Venezuela requires 15,000 MW of power, but only has 12,000 MW. The 20% gap is completely transferred to the residential and commercial sector in the interior of the country.
• The oil factor: Hydrocarbon production requires between 1,200 and 1,700 MW continuous and uninterrupted, impossible to ration without generating operational catastrophes.
• The collapse of Guri and Corpoelec: units paralyzed for more than a decade, lack of preventive maintenance and the consequences of the centralization of electrical companies in 2007.
• Official plans vs. technical feasibility: the balance of the government’s promises to add 1,300 MW and the projected agreements with international firms.
• Emergency route: the 5 urgent measures that experts propose to stop the paralysis, starting with the end of the “information blackout” in force since 2010.
