2024 Venezuelan blackouts

An energy crisis in Venezuela has resulted in blackouts for a decade in most of the country, through social networks and mainly on Twitter/X, users reported a blackout that left several areas of Caracas without electricity and totally or partially affected the states of Zulia, Falcón, Lara, Carabobo, Mérida, Táchira, Miranda, Nueva Esparta, Sucre, Guárico, Bolívar, Aragua, La Guaira, Trujillo, Anzoátegui, and Yaracuy. El Carabobeño, a newspaper in the Central Region of Venezuela, reported that an electrical fluctuation occurred at 7:15 pm VET on 27 August in several Venezuelan states and in the capital Caracas. Power returned briefly before a second fluctuation occurred at 7:30 pm VET, lasting longer than the first in many of the affected regions. 30 August At around 4:50 am VET on 30 August, another blackout caused severe power disruptions in several states and Caracas; 1 September Several neighborhoods in Caracas were again without electricity several hours after power was restored from the 30 August blackout. No explanation for the outages was provided as of 2 September, but heavy rainfall was reported to have led to outages in Caracas as well as other states. 2 September The states of Miranda and Aragua experienced power outages on 2 September, with El Hatillo Municipality particularly affected; users complained that Corpoelec was not responding. 3 September A power outage affected Caracas and 16 states at 1:25 pm on 3 September. Maturín, the capital city of the state of Monagas, was still experiencing unscheduled and unannounced daily blackouts as of 3 September lasting between three and four hours. 5 September Users from Caracas and 8 states reported power outages at 2:50 pm on 5 September. == Effects ==

Oil industry and other commerce Operations impacted by the 30 August blackout included the state oil company PDVSA and its largest terminal that handles roughly 70% of Venezuelan oil exports, as well as its headquarters in Caracas. Blackouts also impacted the operations of oil upgrader company Petropiar, the main Venezuelan crude oil export terminal for Chevron. Caracas workers gathered outside their office buildings while awaiting instructions from leadership on whether to stay or go home. Media access According to , a non-governmental organization that monitors internet censorship, 86% of Internet connectivity was affected by the 27 August outages. Transportation Minister of Transport Ramon Velasquez reported that Caracas Metro service was stopped due to the outages, and that over 250 buses would replace the trains until power returned. El Diario de Caracas reported that "Humiades Urbina, director of the National Academy of Medicine, said that between 30 and 40 health centers in the interior of the country do not have functioning emergency and intensive care units during blackouts." Stockpiling Despite reassurances from newly appointed Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello that power would gradually return, Al Jazeera stated on 30 August that residents in cities such as Barquisimeto began to stockpile food and gasoline in anticipation of further blackouts, with eyewitnesses reporting that gas station lines extended to about . == Causes ==

Maduro's administration attributed the cause of the 30 August outage to "electrical sabotage". Communications Minister Ñáñez stated that "Nobody will take away the peace and tranquility of the Venezuelan people"; In an interview on state channel Venezolana de Televisión, he directly attributed the problem to sabotage and named opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González as responsible, claiming the "sabotage" was part of a "coup plan". According to the news media site Infobae, these accusations could lead to an escalation of persecution and repression against anti-Maduro political opposition. A Reuters article stated on 30 August: "Maduro, who is locked in a dispute with the opposition over the outcome of a July 28 presidential election, has often held his political rivals responsible for what he says are 'attacks' on the power grid, accusations the opposition has always denied." Aguilar criticized the administration's lack of transparency about the power situation in Venezuela. He told Efecto Cocuyo that the 30 August "failure occurred during a time of low electricity demand, which should have made the system easier to manage, but instead exposed its vulnerability", adding that the administration "has not provided public data on the state of the system in more than 5,000 days, which prevents an accurate assessment of the situation". == Reactions ==

In the context of the political crisis following the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, Cabello claimed Cabello said 11 people had been arrested. == See also ==