February 16

Venezuela rejects Colombia's energy assistance
Venezuelan Executive Vice President Elias Jaua on February 15 brushed aside any possibility of accepting a Colombian electricity supply offer.

Jaua said that the government "is busy and working to power up its own independent electricity system," therefore the offer made by Colombian authorities was superfluous. Meanwhile, Alí Rodríguez, the Minister of Electric Energy, said that he could not make any comment because the (strained) relations between the two countries must be considered.

Earlier, Hernán Martínez, the Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy, said that the Cabinet was discussing the possibility of exporting to Venezuela the same amount of energy that it was shipping to Ecuador, Efe reported.

Martínez said that Colombia is no longer selling energy to Ecuador because the dams of its neighboring country had been filled and the government of Rafael Correa decided to stop purchasing energy at such a high price.

"We have a small surplus of energy that could be sold to Venezuela if they request us to do so," the Energy Minister said.

Martínez admitted that Colombia has not received any formal request by Venezuela.

Jaime Bermúdez, the Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs, had also said that his country could help Venezuela with power supply.

Colombia to formalize energy offer to Venezuela
Hernán Martínez, the Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy, announced that he would make a formal offer on February 18 to supply energy to Venezuela, despite the fact that Venezuelan top officials spurned the electricity offer.

Martínez told Colombian radio station RCN that he was surprised by the remarks of Venezuelan Vice President Elías Jaua, who brushed aside any possibility of using Colombian energy to overcome Venezuela's power crisis.

"But he has not said formally no. I think that the Venezuelan people are going through a difficult situation due to the rationing of power. We could supply some energy (to Venezuela). We are discussing that possibility and I will be making a formal offer anyway," he said.

Martínez said that after the formal offer on February 18 he will also await a formal response (from the Venezuelan government), Efe reported.

Government seeks to ensure power supply in Caracas
Top members of the Electricity Joint Chiefs of Staff inspected on February 18 four thermal generation units that will increase the energy capacity of power utility Electricidad de Caracas (EDC) by 134 megawatts (MW). The four units will be located near the Josefa Joaquina Sánchez plant (Tacoa power plant, state of Vargas).

The Executive Vice President and Minister of Agriculture and Lands, Elías Jaua; the Electricity Minister, Alí Rodríguez, and the Minister of Finance and Planning, Jorge Giordani, along with Javier Alvarado, the president of EDC, visited the area, which has been denominated Picure 1. There will be on the site 2 power units of 22 MW each and 2 units of 45 MW each, for a total of 134 MW of power capacity, with an investment of USD 125 million.

Meanwhile, the Electricity Minister said that these plants, which will be gradually incorporated into the system and will come into operation on May 15, will help to nail down "the strategy we have been implementing to build 'an electric ring' around Caracas metropolitan area, in order to ensure power supply in the Venezuelan capital, regardless of the levels of Guri reservoir."

February 17

Venezuela ponders electricity imports from Brazil or Colombia
Electricity Minister Alí Rodríguez Araque said in relation to the proposed sale of electricity by the Colombian government, that Venezuela does not rule out any option. However, he added that it was early to make a decision regarding the offer of the neighboring country, as President Hugo Chávez's government is not aware of the nature thereof.

"It is not safe to jump the gun," said the official. "If there is any proposal from Colombia, we will assess it. We have also received some proposals from Brazil. As you know, we are exporting electricity to Brazil, up to 80 megawatts. They have set up thermal power capacity. They told us that they can stop importing energy and (that they are willing to) export power to Venezuela (…) If and when they submit a proposal, we will consider it."

The Venezuelan government is pondering all these options in order to secure power supply to the population, said Rodríguez during a press conference on February 16 at the office of the Vice President.

On the other hand, Rodríguez stressed that the Electricity Joint Chiefs of Staff examined on February 16 the equipments that the Venezuelan government has purchased to generate power immediately in order to increase the thermal generation capacity by 4,000 megawatts this year. "The plants will produce over 1,200 megawatts by May. This could offset the decline of power generation in the Guri Dam, as a result of a lengthy drought."

Rodríguez reiterated that the government would continue implementing measures to reduce excessive power consumption in Venezuela. "If we do not correct the situation, this can lead us to a much more difficult situation, if the rate of decline of the water levels of Guri reservoir continues. We need the cooperation of heavy and medium-size consumers."

February 18

Retailers view as unfeasible 20 percent reduction in power demand
A week after the publication in the Official Gazette of a plan on electric rationing in Caracas, uncertainty prevails among businesses.

Víctor Maldonado, the director of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of the Venezuelan capital city, said that the ceiling on energy consumption established by the government for the so-called heavy consumers is "unrealistic."

According to the official resolution, companies in the trade and industrial sectors with consumption higher than 25 kilovolt/ampere (kVa) per month are considered heavy consumers. Such companies are expected to cut electric power demand by 10 percent by February 19, and by another 10 percent next week in order to avoid power cuts.

Javier Alvarado, the president of Electricidad de Caracas (EDC), a Venezuelan public utility, said that on February 19 EDC officials will begin inspecting 8,000 heavy consumers in the areas of trade, industry and public institutions in the metropolitan area of Caracas.

According to Maldonado, the nature of certain businesses makes implementation of the government regulation "impracticable." "It is impossible for bakeries to meet such restrictions on power consumption," he said.

Apart from bakeries, the business leader said that supermarkets and restaurants are heavy consumers due to their continued use of refrigeration to preserve food.

Maldonado rejected again the fact that the Executive branch of government has outlined an energy saving plan unilaterally. "The government has not talked to any sector to build public policies."

Ricardo Saladrigas, the chairman of the Industrial Association of Outdoor Advertising (Aimex), announced that they have turned off 35 percent of billboards and outdoor advertising displays throughout the country.

In Caracas, the city with the largest number of billboards, companies have turned off 40 percent of ads. Saladrigas stressed that the rationing plan goes as planned to comply with the resolution issued by the government last week.

Venezuelan Minister: Colombian power offer to Venezuela is meaningless
Although the offer made by Colombian authorities to export energy to Venezuela has not been formalized yet, the Venezuelan Electricity Minister Alí Rodríguez, said that the Colombian electric utilities "have only provided (in the past) 140 MW and Venezuela's consumption is about 17,000 MW."

Although the proposal of the Colombian energy officials is not officially known, an offer to supply 140 MW would represent 70 percent of the electric saving expected under a failed rationing plan in the metropolitan area of Caracas. This offer would be enough to meet the demand of a city like Puerto La Cruz, in the eastern state of Anzoátegui.

Venezuela and Colombia have three interconnected grids in the border.

Meanwhile, César Quintini, an engineer and member of the Venezuelan Academy of Engineering and Habitat, said that "Brazil and Colombia have been hit by (the meteorological event) El Niño but they took the precautionary measures in the past decade… The availability of power generation is very high in those countries."

February 19

Ecuador joins Colombia in offer to export electricity to Venezuela
The Ecuadorian government has made a proposal similar to the Colombian offer to export electricity to Venezuela and contribute to alleviate Venezuela's power crisis.

According to power industry sources, Venezuela's Electricity Minister Alí Rodríguez and Hernán Martínez, the Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy, had a telephone conversation to talk about a formalization of the Colombian offer to supply energy to Venezuela.

The proposal was discussed at the regular meeting of the Venezuelan Electricity Joint Chiefs of Staff and senior government officials. The Ecuadorian proposal to export electricity to Venezuela through Colombia was discussed in the meeting as well.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government plans to increase power generation by 540 MW in March, with 320 MW from Unit 1, a gas conversion power plant, at Planta Centro, located in Morón, central state of Carabobo; 60 MW generated in El Vigía (southwestern state of Mérida), 40 MW in southwestern Táchira state, 40 Mw in southwestern Barinas state and 80 MW in northwestern Lara state.

Col. José Pereira, of the Air Force Weather Service, said that Venezuela "is not currently bombing clouds to increase moisture" and induce rainfall, particularly in the headwater of the Caroni River.

Pereira said that according to weather forecasts, "February will be a very dry month, as well as part of March." However, "rains are expected by mid-March."

Venezuela weighs Colombia's electricity supply
The Colombian government on February 18 submitted its earlier proposal to help Venezuela with electricity supply in order to overcome ongoing troubles due to the decline of the water level at Guri dam.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro reported that the offering arrived on February 18 and it was being pondered by Minister of Electrical Energy Alí Rodríguez Araque.

He also explained that the Colombian government last October discontinued "without notice" its power supply to Venezuela. As a result, he expected the current offering to be sustainable and not used as a political issue.

"We hope it to be a steady, candid proposal able to remain in the course of time," Minister Maduro said.