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Venezuela to Ration Power in Caracas, a Measure Long Avoided

Venezuela to Ration Electricity Following Nationwide Blackouts

(Bloomberg) -- With the lights still flickering, Venezuelans are preparing for an event that the socialist regime has long tried to avoid: power rationing in the capital.

On Thursday, after much of Caracas had gone three days without electricity, businesses were reopening. Residents stocked up on bread as though a snow storm were about to hit town. The poor sought water as the wealthiest searched for generators and diesel fuel.

Caraquenos, as residents of the capital are known, are bracing for similar conditions endured in backwater towns and cities that have suffered unrest and looting. On Wednesday, President Nicolas Maduro announced electricity will be rationed as authorities try to fix the crisis-torn nation’s shaky grid. The government has tried to shield Caracas at all costs by diverting energy and resources, but after two nationwide blackouts in less than a month, few believe the capital can continue to be safeguarded from years of mismanagement and decay.

Venezuela to Ration Power in Caracas, a Measure Long Avoided

“Now it’s Caracas’s turn,” said Dervis Gomez, a parking attendant at a bakery in the east of the city. Inside, shoppers queued for the few flatbreads and cakes available, while others simply idled and enjoyed the electricity. “We have power now, but it’ll go out anytime.”

Stalled City

Venezuela is still reeling from a nationwide power failure that began Monday with classes and work suspended for a third straight day. Across Caracas long lines formed at gas stations, and the metro and most public transit remained closed.

Those with the means in Caracas have been buying up small, diesel-fueled generators. Joel Barrios, a salesman at ElectroMall, an electronics store on the east side of town, said his shop has sold over 500 units priced as high as $3,000 in the past two weeks.

"People are desperate,” Barrios said. “We sell out all the time.”

Venezuela to Ration Power in Caracas, a Measure Long Avoided

Andres Medina, 33, paid $250 to import a generator through courier service this month when he had to take care of his 2-year-old daughter through high fevers. It allowed him to keep his refrigerator, stove and television going over the past couple of days.

"I knew then that if I was going to continue living in Venezuela, I had to buy one," he said.

Supposed Sabotage

Maduro on Wednesday phoned in to state television and told Venezuelans -- those who could see him -- to expect more power cuts in days to come. “We will have days where we’ll have to ration, conscientiously, in an organized manner,” he said.

For a decade, the government has tried to protect the capital from regular outages. In 2010, Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, sacked an electricity minister after he imposed a plan to ration power in Caracas amid a previous crisis.

Venezuela to Ration Power in Caracas, a Measure Long Avoided

Maduro, who is fighting to retain power amid international censure and domestic challenges, blamed a “brutal terrorist attack” by government foes. The opposition contracted a gunman who unloaded rounds into a “vital” transmission system in rural Venezuela, he said.

Maintenance

Maduro didn’t specify where, but said authorities had recovered shells. Officials said a week-long failure earlier this month was due to a “cybernetic attack” launched by the U.S., but didn’t provide evidence.
Experts have said the actual cause is a years-long dearth of maintenance. Rationing can’t overcome the decay, said Nelson Hernandez, a Caracas energy consultant. He said restarting the system after widespread blackouts could result in further accidents.

“The national electrical system is in worse shape than before with the incidents that occurred these last weeks,” he said Thursday. “A rationing plan is successful if the electrical system is strong, not weak like the current one. With weaknesses in the system, such as faults in substations, transmission lines and turbines in hydroelectric plants, there can be no rationing organized and on a timetable.”

Wednesday’s announcement was the first time the government acknowledged the blackouts could continue into the foreseeable future.

--With assistance from Alex Vasquez and Fabiola Zerpa.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andrew Rosati in Caracas at arosati3@bloomberg.net;Patricia Laya in Caracas at playa2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Cancel at dcancel@bloomberg.net, Stephen Merelman

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