Drought and energy are directly connected in Venezuela
Venezuela has had a rough 2016, and that’s putting it lightly. The drought-stricken country continues to take drastic measures to combat its current energy crisis that has been caused, in large part, by a historic drought.
The South American country has been in the midst of brutal drought for the better part of two years. Many are blaming the latest El Niño weather phenomenon for extremely dry weather that has been plaguing many parts of southern hemisphere, including Venezuela.
And the drought is directly tied to energy in Venezuela, as upwards of 70 percent of the country’s electricity is generated via hydropower at the Guri Dam, one of the largest dams in the world. With water levels at the Guri Dam falling precipitously low, the drought has sent the country spiraling directly into a full-blown energy crisis.
If nothing else, the current situation in Venezuela is a current, real-life example of the importance of having contingency plans in place for necessities like electricity.
Clocks pushed forward, two-day workweek introduced
Over the past few months, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has implemented a number of measures in an effort to squash the energy crisis in its tracks. It started with switching government workers to a three-day weekend and asking women to reduce use of energy wasting electric hair dryers. In late April the Venezuelan government announced electricity rationing that would occur largely in four-hour suspensions of electrical service that will alternate and vary by location.
The moves have gotten more and more drastic, leading to the most recent attempts to save energy — moving to more frequent rolling blackouts, switching government workers to two-day workweeks and pushing official Venezuelan time up by 30 minutes.
Oil rich, but currently energy poor
Venezuela is [link url=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_production” title=”one of the most oil-rich countries in the world“], but, because of the Guri Dam and the use of hydropower, oil has no direct connection to the country’s energy. There’s no direct connection, but arguments can be made that a secondary connection exists.
According to the [link url=”http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/171.htm” title=”Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)“], Venezuela’s oil revenues account for 95 percent of the country’s export earnings, and oil accounts for roughly a quarter of the nation’s gross domestic product.
With oil prices falling dramatically in recent years, the country’s financials have taken a large hit while its landscape is struggling to cope with a lack of water at the same time.
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