Venezuela to Boost Power Tariffs After Blackout Strikes
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Venezuela, the largest oil producer in South America, will boost power prices as much as 200 percent to counter rising demand after a blackout affected several thousand megawatts of capacity in the western state of Zulia.
Bills will rise threefold for residential users that are consuming 20 percent more power compared with 2009 levels after a July 15 deadline, Electricity Minister Ali Rodriguez said today in Caracas. Power bills will rise 10 percent in the first month and five percent in each successive month for industrial users that don’t reduce usage by a 10th, he said.