Does Venezuela's electricity system collapse?

In this paper, the collapse of Venezuela’s electricity system is analyzed. Two well-known recovery plans, the Venezuelan Electricity Sector Recovery Plan (VESRP) and the Country Plan Electricity (CPE), are described in detail, and their challenges are discussed in the context of the energy transition paradigm.

How has Venezuela impacted the energy sector?

Since 2013, Venezuela has been confronting a profound political, social, and economic crisis with a strong negative impact on the country’s energy sector. The crisis has severely affected the production of oil, natural gas, fuels, and electricity (Monaldi et al., 2021).

What are the statistics on electricity production in Venezuela?

Since 2009, there have been no official statistics on the electricity and energy sectors. Since the end of the 19th century, the production of electricity has been steadily growing in Venezuela. In between, there were some jolts due to prolonged droughts associated with the El Niño phenomenon.

What is a Venezuelan energy recovery plan (vesrp)?

Two well-known recovery plans, the Venezuelan Electricity Sector Recovery Plan (VESRP) and the Country Plan Electricity (CPE), are described in detail, and their challenges are discussed in the context of the energy transition paradigm. These plans have been proposed by non-governmental actors with different scopes and methodologies.

Should Venezuela build a decarbonized electricity matrix?

However, there is a lack of insight about the economic and environmental opportunities of building a decarbonized electricity matrix in account of the existence of huge renewable energy resources. Fulfilling a balance between reconstructing Venezuela’s historic electricity system and building a new decarbonized system is of major significance.

Should fossil fuels prevail in the Venezuelan electricity matrix?

It is observed that if fossil fuels prevail in the Venezuelan electricity matrix, the long-run marginal costs of the hydro-thermal balance model could not be competitive with respect to other decarbonized economies in the region.