Venezuela experiences a nationwide large-scale power outage

Starting from the early morning of August 30 local time, Venezuela experienced a nationwide large-scale power outage, and all 23 states and the capital district of the country were severely affected.

It is understood that this power outage began at around 4:50 in the morning on the 30th, which led to many serious consequences. Enterprises had to suspend business, and hospitals could only rely on backup generators to maintain operations. In Caracas, the subway stopped running, leaving tens of thousands of people stranded. Mobile phone services were also interrupted due to the power outage, causing great trouble to residents' communications. In the western city of Barquisimeto, residents even began to hoard gasoline and food.

Venezuelan President Maduro blamed the opposition for the "violent sabotage" of the country's main hydropower station for this power outage, but this accusation was denied by opposition figures.

As of 17:00 local time, power supply in at least eight major cities including the capital Caracas has been restored. However, power restoration work in other areas is still in progress.

Freddy Náñez, Venezuela's minister of communications and information, said that all 23 states and the capital district of the country have reported a total or partial power supply interruption. He believes this is a "deliberate sabotage" launched by the opposition. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil wrote on social media on the same day that the opposition, which lost in the presidential election, attacked the national power system, which is harming and punishing the people.

The Venezuelan government said that the national power company and public service institutions have launched response measures and deployed a "special ground transportation operation" to strive to restore full power supply. At the same time, relevant departments have also launched an in-depth investigation into this incident.

This nationwide power outage in Venezuela has attracted widespread attention from the international community. This is not the first time the country has experienced a large-scale power outage. In March and July 2019, Venezuela also experienced nationwide power outages respectively. In the future, how Venezuela will further ensure the stability of power supply and strengthen the security protection of the power system will be the focus of attention from all sectors.