Venezuela Appoints New Head of State Electric Company Amid Energy Conservation Calls

Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, has appointed Juan Crisóstomo Fernández as the new president of the state-owned electric company, Corpoelec. This move comes a week after Rodríguez urged the public to conserve electricity and water in anticipation of the intense "Superniño" climate phenomenon.

Fernández, an engineer with 27 years of experience within Corpoelec, is expected to contribute his expertise to strengthening and improving the nation's essential electricity service. He replaces José Luis Betancourt, who will now serve as the vice minister of Electric Services. Fernández's mandate includes reinforcing the team tasked with advancing strategic national objectives for the energy sector.

Rodríguez had previously announced plans to add 4,800 megawatts (MW) to the national grid by the end of the year, aiming to mitigate the impact of rising temperatures and reduced water sources. However, a group of Venezuelan activists from the NGO Monitor Ciudad has challenged the government's narrative, asserting that the country's chronic and prolonged power outages are a result of government mismanagement, not solely the "El Niño" phenomenon.

Jesús Armas, director of Monitor Ciudad, stated that while "El Niño" would undoubtedly cause droughts, Venezuela possessed backup thermoelectric capacity that should have compensated for such issues. Meanwhile, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Venezuela, John Barrett, reported that U.S. energy experts had conducted a technical diagnosis of the country's main hydroelectric plant to identify modernization routes. The Venezuelan government has consistently blamed foreign sanctions for the persistent electricity supply failures, a claim disputed by the opposition and experts who point to corruption and a lack of maintenance.

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If the El Niño phenomenon will undoubtedly impact water in Venezuela, it will cause droughts (...) the truth is that we had backup energy, which was all installed thermoelectric capacity to supply this.