Energy
November 4

Venezuela bans imports of non-energy efficient electrical appliances
The Venezuelan government announced several measures aimed at boosting the electricity sector, including a ban on imports of non-energy efficient electrical appliances, a 20-percent electric power reduction by public institutions and increased thermoelectric power generation, Vice President Ramón Carrizález said.

The Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Electrical Energy and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Intermediate Industries issued two joint resolutions on this issue that were published in the Official Gazette.

Minister of Electrical Energy Ángel Rodríguez said that one of the major moves involves banning imports of appliances that are not energy-efficient and that boost power consumption. A board will be appointed to enforce the new regulation.

November 5

Govn't urges private firms to help meet energy needs
Hugo Chávez's government urged private companies that own thermoelectric power plants and have industrial and commercial activities to become power self-sufficient and contribute with the National Interconnected System (SIN).

Should these companies not meet this requirement, the government instructed energy authorities to take control of their equipments to put them at the disposal of the population.

The ruling of the Ministry of Electrical Energy, published in the Official Gazette No. 39,298, instructs the National Electric Corporation (Corpoelec) and its subsidiaries to "identify private natural persons and corporate entities with power generation facilities that exceed 2 megawatts (MW) in order to maximize the use of this energy source and, if possible, provide their excess power to the system."

In a Cabinet meeting on November 3, the Head of State urged the owners of large corporations and malls to take the necessary steps to generate "100 percent of their energy" demand. Chávez mentioned several business groups, among them real estate developer Constructora Sambil and Venezuela's largest food producer Empresas Polar.

Executive Vice-President Ramón Carrizález and Minister of Energy and Petroleum Rafael Ramírez reiterated on November 4 that "if these sectors do not respond to the call, we will take control" of their power units and "we will put them at the disposal of the population."

November 6

Losses of electric utilities at 30 percent of power generation
The National Electricity System has reported power distribution losses ranging from 28 percent to 30 percent of total power generation in 2008, according to industry sources.

The sources added that losses in Lake Maracaibo eastern coast, northwest Venezuela, and the states of Anzoátegui and Sucre, northeast Venezuela, "may exceed 40 percent" of Venezuela's electricity production.

They noted that 18 percent of losses is non-technical losses or the so-called "black losses" that are related to thefts or illegal connections (in streets and houses), and frauds (stores or manufacturing companies tampering electric meters).

State-run power supplier Cadafe is the subsidiary of the National Electric Corporation (Corpoelec) that has the largest losses. Around 1 million out of Cadafe's 3.3 million customers do not have electricity meters installed. This is an old issue that has not been solved. Therefore, Cadafe does not bill for their consumption.
The remaining 10 to 12 percent of losses are called technical losses. "This means that power plants lose energy in their normal generation processes. In most of the countries of the region, these losses amount to 5-6 percent. However, in Venezuela, the obsolescence of thermal units lead to such damage," the sources said.

If Venezuela's power demand amounts to 118,131 Gigawatts/hour per year, a 28 to 30 percent loss is equivalent to 30,000 GWh/year, "which is a very significant figure if we take into account that thermoelectric generators produce about 31,427 GWh/y. That is to say, the amount of energy lost is similar to the amount produced by plants operating on liquid fuel or gas."

During the years 2001 to 2003, Venezuela was affected by the most serious energy crisis, and the most similar to the current emergency. At that time, electricity officials prepared a set of rules, but some of them were not enforced or were shelved.

The Organic Law on Electricity Service (LOSE), amended by the National Assembly in 2001 to extend and meet the deadlines established in the legal instrument passed in 1999, has been partially enforced.

Since then, the government has failed to create the National Electric Energy Commission (CNEE), an agency charged with "regulating, supervising, monitoring and controlling the activities" of the national electric system. The CNEE would be "decentralized, with its own assets and independent from the national Treasury, with operational, administrative and financial autonomy."

In addition to the law, energy officials prepared at least 10 draft bills to promote electrical efficiency. They were not approved. The last draft (October 2002), provided for the creation of the "Interministerial Commission for the Promotion of Energy Efficiency, to promote values and behaviors aimed at achieving efficient use of energy resources," along with the CNEE. It urged governor's offices, municipalities and agencies to "operate their buildings, office spaces, machinery and equipments with best possible energy efficiency."