Zulia energy collapse

An energy collapse in the state of Zulia, Venezuela occurred as a result of the country's ongoing general crisis, and it is the largest of its kind in the history of the state. With previous events in 2015[1] and 2016,[2] the collapse intensified in 2017, when in September an alleged theft of cables left the city of Maracaibo (considered the second most important municipality in the country) and its surroundings without electricity.[3] Since then long and short-term blackouts have been reported, which also cause the suspension of water supply, failures in cable television, telephone coverage and Internet access, among other services, as well as difficulty conducting business transactions, caused by the scarcity of banknotes and the dependence on the large-scale use of the point of sale terminals as well as electronic payments (such as wire transfers) that are deficient in the absence of electricity and the Internet, resulting in closing of establishments, absence of work, damage of food and electrical appliances, the decrease in quality of life, among other factors, which added to the high temperatures suffered by citizens, affect the normal development of the population.[4][5][6] Authorities such as the national government and the government of Zulia (headed by governor Omar Prieto) have attributed these failures to an alleged sabotage, but the opposition and experts denounce that it is due to lack of maintenance, also arguing that only less than half of what is consumed regularly is produced, reason for which there is "cargo administration" (rationing).[7][8][9] The National Assembly of Venezuela, of opposition majority, declared the region in a state of electrical emergency.[10][11] The service has also been interrupted but to a lesser extent in other states such as Bolívar, Carabobo, Falcón, Mérida, Miranda, Nueva Esparta, Táchira, Vargas and the country's capital Caracas.[12][13][14][15]

The Minister of Electric Power and president of the National Electric Corporation (Corpoelec) threatened with the maximum penalty (25 to 30 years in prison) those who commit acts of sabotage.[16] On 28 September 2018, the minister announced the suspension of the rationing.[17] However, power cuts in the year 2019 regained strength, again registering rationing in different areas of the entity.[18][19]

  1. ^ "Medio país sin luz: Apagón afecta a 12 estados" [Half the country without light: Blackout affects 12 states]. Runrun (in Spanish). 28 September 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Venezuela oficializa racionamiento eléctrico por 40 días en todo el país" [Venezuela officializes electric rationing for 40 days throughout the country] (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Crisis eléctrica en el Zulia es por sabotaje de Corpoelec" [Electric crisis in Zulia is for sabotage of Corpoelec]. La Verdad (in Spanish). 16 September 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Sin billetes y con hiperinflación, Venezuela prueba a la fuerza aplicaciones para pago electrónico" [Without banknotes and with hyperinflation, Venezuela forcibly tests applications for electronic payment]. Reuters (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2019.[dead link]
  5. ^ Ojeda, Yasmín (20 November 2017). "Apagones, sabotaje o condición de precariedad" [Blackouts, sabotage or precariousness]. La Verdad (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  6. ^ "¿ENGAÑO? Desmontan tesis de sabotaje en los apagones" [SCAM? Dismantle thesis of sabotage in the blackouts]. Notizulia (in Spanish). 13 January 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Gobierno insiste en sabotaje eléctrico en el Zulia - El Carabobeño" [Government insists on electrical sabotage in Zulia]. El Carabobeño (in Spanish). 12 August 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  8. ^ "El Zulia lleva 120 horas sin luz y el régimen dice que es sabotaje" [Zulia goes 120 hours without light and the regime says it's sabotage]. EvTV (in Spanish). 13 August 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Más de 50 detenidos por "sabotaje eléctrico" en el Zulia" [More than 50 detained for "electrical sabotage" in Zulia]. La Verdad (in Spanish). 24 April 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  10. ^ Martínez, Sammy Paola (26 July 2018). "La Asamblea Nacional declaró en emergencia eléctrica al estado Zulia" [The National Assembly declared the Zulia state in electrical emergency]. El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Zulia: El otrora estado más rico de Venezuela declarado en emergencia por la crisis" [Zulia: The once richest state in Venezuela declared in emergency due to the crisis]. El Universal (in Spanish). 29 July 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Fallas de luz en Bolívar generan colapsos en los servicios generales" [Light failures in Bolívar generate collapses in general services]. El Nacional (in Spanish). 4 September 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Colapsaron los servicios por apagón en Caracas" [Services collapsed due to blackout in Caracas]. El Nacional (in Spanish). 1 August 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  14. ^ Pérez, Johny (23 February 2018). "El megapagón que dejó sin electricidad a más de 10 estados por al menos 12 horas" [The mega-blackout that left without electricity more than 10 states for at least 12 hours]. Caraota Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 March 2019.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Más de 27 horas sin luz reportan en Puerto Cabello, Carabobo" [More than 27 hours without light reported in Puerto Cabello, Carabobo]. Panorama (in Spanish). 4 September 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  16. ^ "Motta Domínguez: Pena máxima para los que corten cualquier cantidad de cable" [Motta Domínguez: Maximum penalty for those who cut any amount of cable]. Panorama (in Spanish). 3 September 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Motta: "Se suspende la administración de carga"" [Motta: "Cargo administration is suspended"]. Panorama (in Spanish). 23 September 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Caos en Maracaibo: Nuevo apagón deja incomunicada a la capital Zuliana" [Chaos in Maracaibo: New blackout leaves incommunicated the capital Zuliana]. La Patilla (in Spanish). 29 September 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Regresaron los apagones por más de dos horas en Maracaibo" [The blackouts returned for more than two hours in Maracaibo]. Panorama (in Spanish). 15 February 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.