Venezuela has experienced “oscillations and fluctuations” in its electrical service several times a day. Metro had to suspend service. There is still no official information on the causes of the electrical failures.
Venezuela registered this Thursday at least seven electrical blackouts and power outages which affected at least 19 of the country’s 24 statesincluding the city of Caracas, considered a “protected zone” by local authorities.
Electrical blackouts and voltage drops began at 1:00 p.m. local time (6:00 p.m. in Lisbon) and according to users from Monágas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Táchira, Trujillo and Zúlia.
In Caracas electrical failures forced the Metropolitan to suspend service and the Ifetren company to suspend train services from the capital to the towns of Charallave and Los Valles del Tuy, in the neighboring state of Miranda. The Metropolitan service of Los Teques (Miranda) was also suspended.
Even in Caracas, crowds of people could be seen at the bus stops, which passed by full and overflowing with passengers, some of them clinging to the doors, trying to get home after finishing their work day.
In recent weeks, the capital of Venezuela has registered “oscillations and fluctuations” of the electrical service, several times a day and lasting a few seconds.
According to the university professor and former Vice Minister of Energy and Mining of Venezuela, Víctor Poleo, the Venezuela is experiencing a heat wave that is generating greater demand for electricity consumption, because Venezuelans need to use more air conditioners and require more electricity and food. Victor Poelo It also attributes the electrical failures to insufficient energy production in hydroelectric plants. from El Caroní, Gurío Caruachi and Macágua.
According to the NetBlocks platform, power failures left “multiple states in Venezuela, including Caracas” without Internet connectivity.
According to the NGO Committee of People Affected by Blackouts (CAA), between January and May 2023 Venezuela registered 31,123 electrical failures.
At the moment There is no official information on the causes of the electrical failures.
On March 7, 2019, the largest blackout in the history of Venezuela occurred, when a failure at the Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Power Plant left the Venezuelans in total darkness for five days.
A year later, on March 25, 2020, at least 16 states and part of the Capital District were left without electricity. On May 6, 2020, 19 of Venezuela’s 24 states were left completely or partially dark, in a ruling that also affected the Internet and telephone communications. Thirteen days later, a ‘blackout’ once again left the city of Caracas and more than half of the country in darkness.
In 2021, according to the CAA, 12 major electrical blackouts were documented nationwide and more than 178 thousand partial or regional blackouts.
According to the CAA, in 2022 there were 167,618 blackouts in Venezuela, which include 29,418 electrical failures recorded in one month, in October of that year.
The Venezuelan opposition and some analysts insist that some of the electrical failures in Venezuela are caused by poor maintenance and insufficient investment in the sector.
Source: Observadora
