Venezuela Seeks 20% Cut In Energy Use Amid Drought

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is urging a nationwide 20% reduction in energy use as drought hits several regions of this oil-rich nation and puts a strain on electricity grids.

“There are parts of the country that haven’t seen rain all year,” Chavez said late Wednesday during a televised meeting with his Cabinet.

He told residents of this tropical-climate nation to turn off air conditioners at night and said he’d do his part by cutting electricity use by 50% at the presidential Miraflores palace in Caracas. During the meeting, the president even order the lights above the roundtable dimmed.
Venezuela’s electricity challenges have led to blackouts in some regions and forced others to ration electricity use. This has created another stumbling block for the manufacturing industry, which is already struggling to keep up production levels amid problems unrelated to electricity, such as the lack of easy access to foreign currency.

The government has said industrial production, which shrank 8.5% in the second quarter, needs to rise to help the country’s economy recover. The economy contracted in the first half due largely to a fall in oil prices last year.

Highlighting the seriousness of the power situation, Chavez said he was creating a new ministry, the Ministry of Electrical Energy.

He also said a commission would be formed to ensure that energy-reduction plans, including the distribution of power-saving light bulbs, are carried out. Chavez also said the problem was creating water supply issues and said residents need to conserve water by, among other things, spending less time in the shower.

Wall Street Journal (through Google News)