EL UNIVERSAL

CARACAS, Monday September 01, 2008 | Update

Daily News > News

Vote

Failure in high-voltage line causes blackout in Caracas and west Venezuela

According to TV news reports, the blackout affected also a portion of central Carabobo state, some municipalities in south-western Portuguesa state, and areas of Andean Táchira state, among others

Country

A failure in high-voltage line 765 San Jerónimo-La Arenosa caused a blackout at midday on Monday in the Greater Caracas and several areas in west Venezuela, reported Hipólito Izquierdo, chairman of the National Electrical Corporation.

The official said that the power loss was of approximately 4,500 MW and that the electricity generation turned off at Joaquina Sánchez plant, which serves the capital city. He reported also on a shortage of the electrical service in Maracaibo, the capital city of Zulia state, and part of west Venezuela.

At the time of giving the news, Izquierdo said that the power supply had been restored by 25 percent in the metropolitan area.

Additional reports aired on news TV channel Globovisión stated that the blackout affected also a portion of central Carabobo state, some municipalities in south-western Portuguesa state, and areas of Andean Táchira state, among others.

Quick Access to:

On the Cover

Bases of discord

04:17 PM. Western Hemisphere. "Damned empire; I curse you one thousand times; some day you will be finished off and wrecked. I curse you one thousand times, empire." This is the least that President Hugo Chávez has uttered to refer to the US government. In urging the Bolivarian Armed Forces to prepare for war, he said that a US raid on Venezuela through Colombia would trigger and spread over the region "the 100-year war."