As reported in the Washington Post:
Leftist President Hugo Chavez called on Venezuelans on Wednesday to stop singing in the shower and to wash in three minutes because the oil-exporting nation is having problems supplying water and electricity.MORE:
Venezuela has suffered several serious blackouts in the past year because of rapidly growing demand and under-investment, which has been aggravated by a drop in water levels in hydroelectric dams that provide most of its energy.
Chavez announced energy-saving measures and said he would create a ministry to deal with the electricity shortages, which have affected the image of his socialist revolution before legislative elections due in 2010.
Apparently not understanding that insufficient investment by inefficient state-run enterprises plus price controls lead to shortages, the New York Times is perplexed by Venezuela's problems.
(via Normblog, Planet Gore)
6 comments:
> Chavez announced energy-saving measures and said he would create a ministry to deal with the electricity shortages, which have affected the image of his socialist revolution before legislative elections due in 2010.
Next up, a five-year plan for energy development.
And this is the social system which, I believe, inspires our Dear Leader OBummer.
Unless a whole bunch more US citizens get enlightened in a real hurry, this is a Preview of Coming Attractions...
Daniel Duquenal’s Venezuela News & Views did a copy/paste from an article in Tal Cual. Though Daniel didn’t have the time to translate, he writes his blog in English. I have translated a paragraph, to give an idea of what it says. If you want more translated, I will be glad to do so. The gist of the article is that there were a number of technical studies from 7+ years ago that predicted Venezuela’s electrical generating system would face big problems if nothing were done. And thanks to Thugo, nothing was done.
Tal Cual via Daniel’s blog:
Leer y analizar los informes de los ingenieros de Edelca ¬que nos muestra el ex gobernador Andrés Velásquez- hechos en 2002 advirtiendo lo que ocurriría "entre 2009 y 2010" de no tomarse las medidas adecuadas junto con hacer un plan de inversiones que ellos detallaron, es comprender la causa de la actual crisis de energía eléctrica.
Mas claro si se consultan dos informes de los ingenieros de Cadafe. Uno de 1997 y otro de 1999 ya con Chávez en el gobierno.
My translation:
We can comprehend the cause of the current electrical energy crisis after reading and analyzing Edelca engineering reports from 2002 that former Governor Andrés Velásquez shows us. The engineering reports warned what would occurr “between 2009 and 20010” if adequate measures were not taken. The reports’ detailed investment plans indicated what measures to take. The cause of the crisis becomes clearer yet if one were to consult two Cadafe engineering reports: one from 1997, and the other from 1999, when Chávez already headed the government.
Caracas Gringo (not I) has an interesting article which compares Venezuela’s current electrical generating problems to a crippling accident several months ago in large hydroelectric plant in Siberia. It links to some photos of the accident in the Boston Globe.
Very interesting, Gringo. Imagine a country with all that oil having electric power shortages. That's socialism for ya.
Yes, that's socialism- or at least Chavismo- for ya. Actually, most of Venezuela's electrical energy is hydroelectric. The problems appear to be throughout both hydroelectric and thermoelectric (fossil fuel) plants, in addition to the transmission system.
Chavismo doesn't do maintenance and planning well. I know a petroleum engineering consultant who has made inspection trips to Venezuela for years and years. He says that the level of maintenance in PDVSA operations has deteriorated considerably. PDVSA, once one of the few well-run government-owned oil companies, has been turned into a "jobs for the boys" operation. Thugo has further weakened PDVSA by appropriating funds previously used for maintenance and investment. Yes, you can kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Devil’s Excrement linked to some
photos showing abysmal maintenance at a thermoelectric plant. Thanks to Thugo. Truly, a picture can be worth a thousands words. No translation is necessary.
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