Power Cuts Hit Venezuela's West During Heat Wave
2023-06-13
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1People in central Venezuela are losing electricity service regularly.
2The lack of power means Venezuelans cannot cool their homes during a heat wave.
3Lack of electricity also means that factories, homes and basic service providers, or utilities, have no power.
4Citizens, engineers, and researchers say electricity producing stations are failing to provide enough electricity when hydroelectric dams have low water levels.
5"It is inhumane that in a city like this they cut our power during the hottest hours," said 42-year-old Mariana Barboza in Maracaibo, where temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius.
6Reuters news service says long power cuts had been avoided in recent years because demand has dropped sharply.
7Also, President Nicolas Maduro's government has aimed to improve power lines.
8But outages have returned.
9Now, they are affecting the capital Caracas, which had not experienced them too often in the past.
10People from Caracas said the cuts last for at least four hours a day.
11Maduro said recently that Venezuela's average temperature rose four degrees Celsius this year.
12During part of the year, electricity-producing dams have reduced water flow while demand for electricity to cool homes increases.
13This has led to reports of a public water supply that is not always available, and unstable electricity at factories and oil operations.
14There have also been times when telecommunications services are unavailable.
15The city of Maracaibo is the capital of Zulia, a state in the west of the country.
16Reuters reported that some public hospitals in the state were told to begin operating their own power stations.
17That is because the local government cannot secure dependable power.
18A person with knowledge of the plan spoke to the news agency.
19Venezuela's information ministry and state power company Corpoelec did not answer requests for comment by Reuters.
20Venezuela's main power supply comes from the Guri Dam in the south of the country.
21But the dam produces less electricity when water levels are low before the rainy season.
22In 2019, Venezuela's power transport system collapsed.
23It left almost the whole country without electricity for four days.
24The government has made improvements to the power transportation lines since then to avoid a similar crisis.
25But researchers say that even some of the recently built fuel-powered plants are out of service because of a lack of fuel, delayed repairs, and lack of replacement parts.
26That leaves the power system at risk of outages whenever demand is above the 12,000 Megawatts (MW) usually produced by the Guri Dam.
27In May, independent estimates showed that the daily demand for electricity reached almost 13,000 Megawatts.
28However, that number is down from the 19,000 Megawatts that used to be needed 10 years ago.
29"Even being robust, the Guri also gets tired," said engineer Isnaldo Jimenez from the Association of Electricians and Mechanics in Carabobo state.
30He was talking about the high demand for electricity from the dam when other plants cannot provide enough power.
31State oil company PDVSA is struggling to meet the country's fuel needs for electricity production and gasoline stations.
32The company also faces restrictions from the U.S. government.
33But even with more fuel, plants would not operate up to their abilities because the electricity system needs $15 billion in development to overcome central problems, said Juan Carlos Rodriguez.
34He is with the business advice company JCR Engineers.
35The system's lack of dependability has not stopped the government from increasing electricity costs for buyers.
36"We cannot catch a breath," said 62-year-old vegetable seller Augusto Gonzalez in Maracaibo.
37"I arrive in my shop every day to try to sell something, but if power was cut in the middle of the night, we lose our produce."
38I'm Gregory Stachel.
1People in central Venezuela are losing electricity service regularly. 2The lack of power means Venezuelans cannot cool their homes during a heat wave. Lack of electricity also means that factories, homes and basic service providers, or utilities, have no power. 3Citizens, engineers, and researchers say electricity producing stations are failing to provide enough electricity when hydroelectric dams have low water levels. 4"It is inhumane that in a city like this they cut our power during the hottest hours," said 42-year-old Mariana Barboza in Maracaibo, where temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius. 5Reuters news service says long power cuts had been avoided in recent years because demand has dropped sharply. Also, President Nicolas Maduro's government has aimed to improve power lines. But outages have returned. Now, they are affecting the capital Caracas, which had not experienced them too often in the past. 6People from Caracas said the cuts last for at least four hours a day. Maduro said recently that Venezuela's average temperature rose four degrees Celsius this year. 7During part of the year, electricity-producing dams have reduced water flow while demand for electricity to cool homes increases. This has led to reports of a public water supply that is not always available, and unstable electricity at factories and oil operations. There have also been times when telecommunications services are unavailable. 8The city of Maracaibo is the capital of Zulia, a state in the west of the country. Reuters reported that some public hospitals in the state were told to begin operating their own power stations. That is because the local government cannot secure dependable power. A person with knowledge of the plan spoke to the news agency. 9Venezuela's information ministry and state power company Corpoelec did not answer requests for comment by Reuters. 10No water, no power 11Venezuela's main power supply comes from the Guri Dam in the south of the country. But the dam produces less electricity when water levels are low before the rainy season. 12In 2019, Venezuela's power transport system collapsed. It left almost the whole country without electricity for four days. 13The government has made improvements to the power transportation lines since then to avoid a similar crisis. But researchers say that even some of the recently built fuel-powered plants are out of service because of a lack of fuel, delayed repairs, and lack of replacement parts. 14That leaves the power system at risk of outages whenever demand is above the 12,000 Megawatts (MW) usually produced by the Guri Dam. In May, independent estimates showed that the daily demand for electricity reached almost 13,000 Megawatts. 15However, that number is down from the 19,000 Megawatts that used to be needed 10 years ago. 16"Even being robust, the Guri also gets tired," said engineer Isnaldo Jimenez from the Association of Electricians and Mechanics in Carabobo state. He was talking about the high demand for electricity from the dam when other plants cannot provide enough power. 17State oil company PDVSA is struggling to meet the country's fuel needs for electricity production and gasoline stations. The company also faces restrictions from the U.S. government. 18But even with more fuel, plants would not operate up to their abilities because the electricity system needs $15 billion in development to overcome central problems, said Juan Carlos Rodriguez. He is with the business advice company JCR Engineers. 19The system's lack of dependability has not stopped the government from increasing electricity costs for buyers. 20"We cannot catch a breath," said 62-year-old vegetable seller Augusto Gonzalez in Maracaibo. "I arrive in my shop every day to try to sell something, but if power was cut in the middle of the night, we lose our produce." 21I'm Gregory Stachel. 22Mariela Nava, Tibisay Romero and Vivian Sequera reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 23____________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25utilities - n. a company (such as an electric company) that provides a public service and must follow special rules made by the government 26inhumane - adj. not kind or gentle to people or animals 27outage - n. a period of time when there is no electricity in a building or area 28unstable -adj. unpredictable, likely to change at any time 29dam - n. a structure that is built across a river or stream to stop water from flowing 30robust - adj. strongly formed or built 31___________________________________________________________________ 32What do you think of this story? 33We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 34Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.