Venezuela announced to cut working hours to tackle energy crisis

Venezuela on 28 April 2015 announced to cut the working day for public sector workers to five-and-a-half hours to conserve energy, down from eight to nine hours. The decision is a part of a nationwide electricity rationing plan.

State employees would now work from 07:30-13:00 to save on air conditioning as there will be surge in energy demand due to extremely hot weather.

Further, private companies would be asked to use their own generators to reduce pressure on the national grid.

The private homeowners consumed the most energy, so the government called for everyone to turn the dial down on their air conditioners.

This decision of government has been met with blackouts across the country and the opposition criticised the government for not investing enough in the energy sector. However, the government argues that energy problems were due to maintenance issues.

Power outages are common in Venezuela, which is a big oil producer but depends heavily on hydro-electric power.

Venezuela is also struggling with an economy in recession that has been hard hit by the fall in the price of oil. Some 96% of its export revenues are reported to come from oil.

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