Electricity

Caracas, September 30, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Minister of Electric Energy Rolando Alcalá announced a plan to add 1,300 megawatts (MW) to the country’s electric grid amid growing protests against recurring blackouts. 

In a televised message published on Tuesday, Alcalá pledged that the electricity supply would improve in the final quarter of 2026 to mitigate outages. He explained that a unit at Planta Centro, Venezuela’s main generation complex serving the central-western region, will come online “in the coming days” and provide 600 MW to the area.

The official also announced that seven generation units with a combined capacity of 500 MW will be added to a key thermoelectric plant in Zulia state, which borders Colombia and is one of the areas hardest hit by power failures. 

The government is also reportedly working on an alternative energy plan for the state, including the Machango solar panel park, which is expected to come online next year.

The remainder of the planned generation will come from units located in other regions of the country. 

“Other units will be brought online nationwide, for a total of 1,300 megawatts during this final quarter of 2026. These will help achieve greater stability, continuity, and fewer interruptions in electricity service nationwide,” Alcalá said in a video shared by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez on social media.

“We have a clear plan to face the challenges of the National Electric System and we are executing it,” she wrote on X. “With organization, coordination, and effort we move forward to overcome this situation.”

Meanwhile, the president of the National Electric Corporation (CORPOELEC), Juan Fernández, explained that “as a complement to the thermal generation plan, major transmission projects are being carried out.” He highlighted the expansion of the Planta Centro substation with the addition of a new 400-230 kV autotransformer, equipment that recently arrived from abroad.

“This year, we have gained access to original spare parts and components from the world’s leading manufacturers,” he added, referencing agreements with US-based GE Vernova, Germany’s Siemens, and Argentina’s Impsa. The US Treasury Department has issued sanctions waivers allowing transactions with Venezuela’s electricity sector.

The latest announcements came amid near-daily protests over power outages throughout the country. Demonstrators have taken to the streets to bang pots and pans or block streets to demand that authorities answer for blackouts that can add up to 16 hours per day.

On Wednesday night, protesters from Guacara, Carabobo State, temporarily blocked the Central-Regional Highway, the main highway connecting Caracas to Western regions, after electricity was shut off for a second time in the same day. 

In statements to local press, demonstrators have highlighted that high temperatures and mosquitoes make it hard to sleep without ventilators or air conditioning, leading children to fall asleep in school. They have also criticized authorities for not producing a rationing schedule, making it impossible for families and businesses to plan around outages.

In their Tuesday televised message, Venezuelan government officials stated that the country’s electricity demand has risen in recent weeks, driven by a “rebound in economic activity,” high temperatures caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon, and the twin June 24 earthquakes which “delayed plans that had been underway to repair the electrical system.”

On September 22, the Ministry of Electric Energy reported that electricity demand in Venezuela had reached a record high of 16,424 megawatts (MW), the highest level recorded in the past nine years.

Venezuela has a nominal installed generation capacity of approximately 35,000 megawatts (MW), twice the country’s peak demand. However, actual stable generation currently stands at just 12,000 MW due to a deep structural crisis resulting from US sanctions that prevented the purchase of spare parts, as well as issues of underinvestment, lack of maintenance, and corruption.

Nevertheless, authorities claimed that a proposed reform of the Organic Law of the National Electricity System and Service will allow “the integration of the public and private sectors in electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and commercialization,” with the aim of “promoting competitiveness, and attracting investment to strengthen electrical infrastructure.”

The new law was preliminarily approved by the National Assembly in June, with a second discussion and final approval yet to be scheduled.

The previous legislation, enacted in 2010 under President Hugo Chávez, exclusively reserved all activities across the electricity supply chain for the state, centralized through the state-owned CORPOELEC. The reform authorizes strategic partnerships and concession agreements with domestic and international private companies.

In defending the new law, Venezuelan officials have defended the adjustment of electricity tariffs to reflect “real costs” and secure returns for investors.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.