Venezuelan Government Creates Commission to Select Contractors for Electricity Sector

The Venezuelan government has created a new commission tasked with selecting contractors for its struggling electricity sector. This initiative, detailed in Official Gazette 43.385, aims to revitalize the state-controlled industry, which has been in crisis for years, by incorporating private and foreign investment. The commission is established as a permanent body to manage the procedures for selecting contractors for executing works, acquiring goods, or providing services within the sector.

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The commission is established with a permanent character in order to carry out the procedures for the selection of contractors for the execution of works, acquisition of goods, or provision of services in the sector.

The Commission of Contracts for the Ministry of Electric Energy will consist of three principal members representing the legal, technical, and economic-financial areas: Carmen Velásquez, Jesús Delgado, and Luis Echeverría, respectively, each with designated alternates. Amanda Calderón Singer will serve as the commission's secretary. The decree allows for the inclusion of technical advisors based on the complexity of each contract. Both the General Comptroller's Office and the ministry's Internal Audit Unit are authorized to appoint observers to the selection processes, granting them the right to speak but not to vote.

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The commission may incorporate technical advisors according to the complexity of the contracting.

Venezuela experiences daily electricity supply failures, particularly in regions distant from the capital, Caracas. The ruling party, chavismo, attributes these issues to foreign sanctions, primarily from the United States. Conversely, the opposition and various experts point to factors such as corruption and inadequate maintenance as the root causes of the persistent blackouts.

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The government of Nicolás Maduro has blamed foreign sanctions, mainly from the United States, for the failures in the electricity supply.

This new commission follows recent legislative and diplomatic efforts to address the energy crisis. On June 2, the National Assembly approved a reform of the Organic Law of the Electric System and Service, designed to encourage private investment. Additionally, President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed office following the deposition of Nicolás Maduro, announced in April that negotiations were underway with companies like Siemens and General Electric to resolve the electrical crisis in Zulia state. In mid-May, the US Chargé d'Affaires in Venezuela, John Barrett, met with Minister Rolando Alcalá to discuss the reconstruction of the electrical grid.

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The opposition and experts assure that it is the result of corruption and lack of maintenance, among other factors.