The National Electric System (SIN), which faces its most serious crisis in history, has had financial resources of at least USD 35 billion in eleven years of Hugo Chávez's administration.

Preliminary results of an investigation in progress, which involved the review of 22 official gazettes containing regular and additional budgets in the period 1999-2009 and converting the amounts in VEB and "strong" bolivars to current US dollars, led Victor Poleo, an oil economics professor at Venezuela's Central University and power electricity expert, to conclude that among "the allocations of public credit, additional funds, and the electricity bill, the power sector totaled a USD 34,74 billion income during the period."

He said that USD 27.02 billion of this total corresponds to the electricity bill.

In view of the amount of funds, the former director of Energy of the former Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), rejects the version provided by official spokesmen who have said that the lack of expansion in hydrothermal generation capacity is due to "delays" in investments. Moreover, Poleo said that in a report issued by the state-run power supply group Electrificación del Caroní (Edelca) in March 2009, accounts receivable due from the state-run power supplier Cadafe and its industrial clients amounted to USD 4 billion.

Poleo said that only for two Cadafe's power generation projects, such as the Uribante-Caparo (La Vueltosa) hydroelectric project in the state of Táchira, and the gas conversion of Planta Centro's unit 1 in Morón (state of Carabobo), the government has allocated USD 681 million and the plants "have not yet been completed."

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas