CARACAS, Monday September 01, 2008 | Update
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.
05:09 PM. Economy. If any country has cashed in on the Bolivarian revolution, that is Brazil, particularly the private companies of the southern neighbor. Over the past five years, it has been awarded contracts for works to be carried out in Venezuela for over USD 14 billion. This puts it as the first recipient of government-to-government contracts, that is, without bidding, since Hugo Chávez took office.