Venezuela plans to ration electricity
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday announced a 30-day plan to ration electricity following nationwide power cuts that have affected millions of people, the Associated Press reported, as the South American country was hit by a new blackout on Sunday morning that knocked out power nearly nationwide.
Twitter users reported power outages in at least 20 of the country's 23 states, including the capital Caracas, Xinhua News Agency said.
Venezuela's Communication and Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said officials decided to extend the suspension of classes in the wake of the latest power outage.
They also called on government offices and private businesses to limit hours of operation until 2 p.m. while electricians try to restore service.
On Saturday night, Rodriguez said the country was the victim of "programed and synchronized attacks" against the national electricity network.
Some parts of west and central Venezuela have gone without electricity since Friday night, following an arson attack at the central Guri hydroelectric plant, which serves much of the country, Xinhua reported.
Venezuela suffered its worst blackout on March 7, when a prolonged power outage plunged most of the country in darkness, forcing officials to close schools and offices for about five days.
Officials have blamed the blackouts on sabotage by United States-backed far-right extremists trying to undermine the government.
Speaking on state television, Maduro said he had approved "a 30-day plan" to ration power, "with an emphasis on guaranteeing water service".
The rationing plan will help deal with the outages that have also cut off water supply and communications for days at a time, Maduro said.
In his speech, Maduro said "colectivos" and other pro-government groups should keep order as Venezuela grapples with the blackouts.
"We're confronting monsters who want to destroy Venezuela," said Maduro, who said the electricity rationing would balance generation and transmission with consumption, with the aim of ensuring water supply.
'Brain drain'
Crippled infrastructure, little investment in the power grid and poor maintenance have all contributed to electricity problem, Agence France-Presse reported.
Add to that, the country's economic deep crisis, eye-popping inflation rate and the "brain drain" of qualified personnel - nearly 25,000 people in the electricity sector are among the 2.7 million Venezuelans who have emigrated since 2015, AFP said.
"This is going to continue, the situation is very serious, there will be more blackouts and rationing," Winton Cabas, president of the Venezuelan association of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, told AFP.
The US and some other countries support opposition leader Juan Guaido's claim that Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate. The US has imposed oil sanctions and other economic penalties on Venezuela in an attempt to force him out of power, but he has yet to show signs of backing down.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry on Saturday warned the US against further interfering in Venezuela's domestic affairs and stirring up speculations about Russia conducting military operations in the South American country.
"We recommend that the United States stop threatening Venezuela, strangling its economy and pushing it toward civil war, which is in open violation of international law," the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
She reiterated that Russia is not intentionally building up its military presence in Venezuela, despite such accusations by the West including Washington.
Two Russian air force planes landed in Venezuela on March 23, carrying nearly 100 troops and 35 tons of materials, according to media reports.
Moscow has repeatedly said that the existence of Russian troops in Venezuela is in line with the bilateral agreement on military-technical cooperation.
Xinhua and Agencies
