Venezuela decrees Friday as ‘non-working day’ to reduce power consumption – Portafolio.co

The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro declared Friday as “non-working day” for the next eight weeks to reduce consumption electricity in that country, which has seen a drop in the level of its reservoirs due to a drought and depends largely on hydroelectric generation.

Chavez’s announcement late Wednesday is part of a special plan savings in electricity consumption to be met by families and businesses for the next 60 days.

“Tomorrow should come out in the official gazette special decree establishing every Friday as a nonworking day from Friday of this week,” the president said during a speech on state television.

“We will have long weekends,” said Maduro, while ruled that the decision affects productivity oil country, mired in an economic recession.

It was not immediately clear whether the measure will be mandatory for private companies or only governed the offices of the public sector. The government had already ordered in March to extend to a week the traditional Easter break as saving measure and cut approved days before business hours in malls.

The new measures come after the level of the reservoir which supplies the largest hydroelectric Venezuela fell to record lows last week due to the effects of climate phenomenon El Niño. The reservoir of Guri hydroelectric plant, in southern Venezuela, was on Friday to a minimum of 244.37 meters above sea level and reach the height of 240 meters the installation would have to reduce their generation.

Government critics say the electrical system presents daily interruptions by years of disinvestment and delay in plant maintenance, and that this has contributed to diminishing the level of hydroelectric reservoirs, which provide 60 percent generation.

Businesses largest consumer must use power plants for a few hours a day to curb demand, while the basic industries of Venezuela will have to reduce by 20 percent their energy consumption, he announced the president.

But these measures will be insufficient not reduced electricity consumption in Venezuelan homes, said Maduro, so he left open the possibility of taking new saving policies later.

For now ruled that his government ordered an increase in electricity tariffs, which are regulated, or that you consider applying rationing schemes as ordered by the late President Hugo Chavez in 2010, when he declared an energy emergency once the drought brought the level of the reservoir that supplies the Guri to 248 meters above sea level.

‘is nonsense’
Parliament Speaker Venezuelan opposition Henry Ramos, considered “nonsense” the measure announced on Wednesday by President Nicolas Maduro reduce from 5 to 4 days working hours of civil servants to meet a national emergency caused by drought.

“To solve electrical chaos (the) genius (de) Miraflores extends (the) nonsense (of) non-working days. To fully resolve that extend for 365 days,” he published Ramos Allup in your account Twitter.