(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 1.Apr.2016) – Venezuela, which relies on hydroelectric energy to generate 62 percent of its electricity, could be overcome by power outages in coming months as water levels at many of its dams, including the large Guri, are at dangerously low levels.
Water levels at Guri dropped to 249 meters above sea level on March 2, said Luis Motta Domínguez, Venezuela’s Electric Energy Minister in a statement on the ministry’s website. The situation is ‘critical’ since the water intake values are located at 238 meters above sea level, said the minister.
Venezuela’s Electric Energy Ministry reported that El Niño has failed to produce rains and severely reduced the country’s water levels, according to the statement.
The ministry’s immediate solution to the problem has been to suggest that electricity users reduce their consumption. The suggestion from the minister aims to reduce energy consumption across Venezuela by 30 percent.
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