Electricity sector in Venezuela

Generation of electricity started end of the 19th century by the construction of small-scale hydroelectric power plants. In the first half of the 20th century, the electricity sector was in hands of private companies, which built local and regional supply schemes. The first high-voltage power line of 69 kV was built for the power supply of Caracas when the hydroelectric power plants of Curupao and Izcaragua went into service in 1932. In the late 1940s, a large thermal central was inaugurated in Tacoa. In 1948 and 1954, several companies formed the Cooperación Venezolana de Fomento (CVF) to connect the isolated regional and local power grids with a network of 115 kV power lines. Though political unrest and economic instability hampered the further development of electrification. The national grid was created in 1969. ==Electricity production==

The electricity sector in Venezuela is heavily dependent on hydroelectricity, which accounted for 64% of the nation's electricity generation in 2021. Besides hydroelectric power, Venezuela also relies on natural gas and petroleum, contributing 25% and 11%, respectively, to the total electricity output that year. The country operates six hydroelectric plants, totaling a capacity of 16,010 megawatts (MW), with the Central Hidroeléctrica Guri in Orinoco being the most significant, accounting for 64% of Venezuela's hydroelectric capacity. This reliance on hydroelectricity highlights the grid's vulnerability to fluctuations in water availability. In 2015, Venezuela produced 75 TWh of hydropower, which accounts 1.9% of world's total, a small increase over the production of 2004 of 70 TWh . The installed capacity had however in 2012 reached 26 GW from a total of 13.76 GW at the end of 2002, where 4.5 GW were under construction and 7.4 GW planned. The World Energy Council energy resource report of 2010 estimates the gross theoretical hydropower production could reach 731 TWh per annum, of which 100 TWh are economically exploitable, an increase over the 320 TWh estimates of 2004. Other hydroelectric projects on the Caroní are Caruachi Dam, Macagua I, Macagua II and Macagua III, with a total of 15.910 MW of installed capacity in 2003. A new dams, Tocoma (2 160 MW) and Tayucay (2 450 MW), was under construction between Guri and Caruachi in 2003. With a projected installed capacity for the whole Hydroelectric Complex (upstream Caroni River and downstream Caroni River), between 17.250 and 20.000 MW were planned for 2010. ==Organizations==

The largest power companies are state-owned CVG (EDELCA), a subsidiary of the mining company Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG), and Compania Anonima de Administracion y Fomento Electrico () accounting respectively for approximately 63% and 18% of generating capacities. Other state-owned power companies are (ENELBAR) and (ENELVEN) and Energía Eléctrica de la Costa Oriental (ENELCO) or ENELVEN-ENELCO (approximately 8% of capacities). In 2007, PDVSA bought 82.14% percent of Electricidad de Caracas (EDC) from AES Corporation as part of a renationalization program. Subsequently, the ownership share rose to 93.62% (December 2008). EDC has 11% of Venezuelan capacity, and owns the majority of conventional thermal power plants. The rest of the power production is owned by private companies. The national transmission system (Sistema Interconectado Nacional, SIN) is composed by four interconnected regional transmission systems operated by EDELCA, CADAFE, EDC and ENELVEN-ENELCO. Oficina de Operación del Sistema Interconectado (OPSIS), jointly owned by the four vertical integrated electric companies, operate the SIN under an RTPA regime. ==See also==