ÿþ<html xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2000/10/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:my="http://localhost/namespace"> <head> <META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-16"> <title>Venezuela Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal</title> <meta name="description" content="Venezuela Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal"> <meta name="keywords" content="Venezuela Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal"> <meta http-equiv="pragma" content="no-cache"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"><script language="JavaScript" src="../scripts/printme.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script language="JavaScript" src="../scripts/eia_header.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script language="JavaScript" src="../scripts/eia_footer.js" type="text/javascript"></script><LINK HREF="../eia_sitewideF.css" TYPE="text/css" REL="StyleSheet"><map name="Map"><area shape="rect" coords="3,4,73,59" href="http://www.eia.doe.gov" alt="Energy Information Administration Home " title="Energy Information Administration Home"> <area shape="rect" coords="76,10,379,48" href="../index.html" alt="Country Analysis Briefs" title="Country Analysis Briefs"></map><LINK HREF="../cabs.css" TYPE="text/css" REL="StyleSheet"> </head> <body style="margin: 0px;"> <table summary="" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td colspan="3"><script language="JavaScript">InsertEIAHeaderCode();</script></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="595" style="background:url(../images/R4_03.jpg)"> <div class="cssBreadcrumbs"><a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov">Home</a> &gt; <a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/international">International</a> &gt; <a href="../index.html">Country Analysis Briefs</a> &gt; Venezuela</div> </td> <td width="9000" style="background:url(../images/R4_04.jpg)"><img src="../images/R4_04.jpg" alt="Country Analysis Briefs"></td> <td style="background:url(../images/R4_04.jpg)" align="right"><a href="../index.html"><img src="../images/R4_05.jpg" alt="Country Analysis Briefs" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background:url(../images/R4_06.jpg)" id="header_text"><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="595" height="1"><br><span class="cssCountryTitle">Venezuela</span></td> <td style="background:url(../images/R4_07.jpg)"></td> <td style="background:url(../images/R4_07.jpg)" align="right"><a href="../index.html"><img src="../images/R4_08.jpg" alt="Country Analysis Briefs" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td colspan="2" style="background:#FFFFFF" id="main"> <table summary="" width="100%"> <tr valign="top"> <td></td> <td align="left"><span class="cssHeader1">Electricity</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="150" class="cssTakeAway">Like most South American countries, Venezuela depends upon hydroelectricity for the bulk of its electricity needs.</td> <td class="cssContent"> <div>In 2008, Venezuela had 23.1 gigawatts of installed generation capacity. The country generated 123.4 billion kilowatthours of electricity in 2009, 70 percent of which was hydroelectric power. For most of the 2000s electricity consumption expanded at more than twice the rate of installed capacity, leaving the Venezuelan power grid stretched by the end of the decade. A major drought in 2009-2010 forced President Chavez to declare an  electricity emergency and led the government to implement painful demand-reduction policies.<p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading1"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size: 10pt;color: #auto;"><div align="center" title="Chart of Venezuela's power generation by source." style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><img src="images/Electricity Generation by Source, 1989-2009.gif" alt="Chart of Venezuela's power generation by source." border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic"></div></span></span><br><span class="cssSubheading1">Sector Organization</span><br><div>Large, state-owned companies dominate the electricity sector in Venezuela. The government controls the electricity sector through The National Electricity Corporation (CORPOELEC), a state-owned holding company created in 2007 to consolidate the power sector. CORPOELEC is responsible for the entire electricity supply chain, controlling all major electricity companies in Venezuela including Electrificacion del Caroni (EDELCA), which supplies around three-quarters of the country s total electricity supply. <p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading1">Hydroelectricity</span><br><div>Hydroelectricity provides the bulk of Venezuela s electricity supply. Most of the country s hydro production facilities are located on the Caroni River in the Guayana region. The 8,900-megawatt Guri Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Caroni is one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world and provides the majority of Venezuela s electric power. Water levels at the Guri Dam dropped to record-low levels during the 2009-2010 drought, forcing the country to implement rolling blackouts, reduce industrial production, and fine large users for excessive consumption. Despite weather-related risks, Venezuela plans to expand hydroelectric production in the future.<p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading1">Conventional Thermal</span><br><div>Natural gas powers around one-half of the conventional thermal electricity generation in Venezuela; fuel oil and diesel power the rest. There has been increasing investment in conventional thermal capacity as a means to reduce reliance upon hydropower and utilize domestic hydrocarbon resources. PdVSA began generating power for its own consumption in 2010 to manage power-supply risks in the oil production sector. Especially in the case of conventional thermal generation from liquid fuels, expansion of conventional thermal generation capacity could further reduce Venezuela s hydrocarbon exports.<p></p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> <p></p> </td> <td style="background:url(../images/R4_BG.jpg); background-position:right;" align="right"><a href="../index.html"><img src="../images/R4_10.jpg" alt="Country Analysis Briefs" border="0"></a><p></p> <table summary="" class="cssMenu" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="right"> <tr class="cssTableSpacer"> <td class="cssHeader2White" style="text-align:right; padding-right:10px">March 2011</td> </tr> <tr class="cssTableSpacer"> <td></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="Background.html">Background</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="Oil.html">Oil</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="NaturalGas.html">Natural Gas</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="Electricity.html">Electricity</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="Links.html">Links</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="Sources.html">Sources</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu3"> <td>Full Report<br></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenuRegion"> <td><a href="Full.html" target="_newWin">HTML</a><br></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenuRegion"> <td><a href="pdf.pdf" target="_newWin">PDF</a><br></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu3"> <td>Contact Info</td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu2"> <td><span class="cssMenu2Printer"><a href="mailto:cabs@eia.gov">cabs@eia.gov</a><br>(202)586-8800<br><a href="../Contacts.html">[more contacts]</a></span></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><script language="JavaScript">InsertEIAFooterCode();</script></td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>