The electricity sector in Venezuela is heavily dependent on hydroelectricity, with this energy source accounting for 64% of the country's electricity generation in 2021.[1]
The electricity sector in Venezuela is heavily dependent on hydroelectricity, which accounted for 64% of the nation's electricity generation in 2021. Besides hydroelectric power, Venezuela also relies on natural gas and petroleum, contributing 25% and 11%, respectively, to the total electricity output that year. The country operates six hydroelectric plants, totaling a capacity of 16,010 megawatts (MW), with the Central Hidroeléctrica Guri in Orinoco being the most significant, accounting for 64% of Venezuela's hydroelectric capacity. This reliance on hydroelectricity highlights the grid's vulnerability to fluctuations in water availability.[1]
From 1980 to 2000, Venezuela's electricity consumption almost tripled from about 30 to 88 terawatt hours (TWh), primarily met through hydroelectric expansion, while thermal capacity stayed flat. By 2002/03, electricity theft and drought-induced shortfalls led to a mid-2000s policy shift towards enhancing thermal plant capacity, which nearly doubled. Despite the regional trend towards solar and wind energy since 2015, Venezuela's efforts to establish wind energy, with a projected 50 MW capacity, failed to result in operational facilities.[2]
In 2015, Venezuela produced 75 TWh of hydropower, which accounts 1.9% of world's total,[3] a small increase over the production of 2004 of 70 TWh .[4] The installed capacity had however in 2012 reached 26 GW[5] from a total of 13.76 GW at the end of 2002, where 4.5 GW were under construction and 7.4 GW planned.[6] The World Energy Council energy resource report of 2010 estimates the gross theoretical hydropower production could reach 731 TWh per annum, of which 100 TWh are economically exploitable,[7] an increase over the 320 TWh estimates of 2004.[6]
Hydroelectricity production is concentrated on the Caroní River in Guayana Region. Today it has 4 different dams. The largest hydroplant is the Guri dam with 10,200 MW of installed capacity, which makes it the third-largest hydroelectric plant in the world.[8] Other hydroelectric projects on the Caroní are Caruachi Dam, Macagua I, Macagua II and Macagua III, with a total of 15.910 MW of installed capacity in 2003. A new dams, Tocoma (2 160 MW) and Tayucay (2 450 MW), was under construction between Guri and Caruachi in 2003. With a projected installed capacity for the whole Hydroelectric Complex (upstream Caroni River and downstream Caroni River), between 17.250 and 20.000 MW were planned for 2010.
The largest power companies are state-owned CVG Electrificación del CaroníCorporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG), and Compania Anonima de Administracion y Fomento Electrico (CADAFE ) accounting respectively for approximately 63% and 18% of generating capacities. Other state-owned power companies are Energía Eléctrica de Barquisimeto (ENELBAR) and Energía Eléctrica de Venezuela (ENELVEN) and Energía Eléctrica de la Costa Oriental (ENELCO) or ENELVEN-ENELCO (approximately 8% of capacities). In 2007, PDVSA bought 82.14% percent of Electricidad de Caracas (EDC) from AES Corporation as part of a renationalization program. Subsequently, the ownership share rose to 93.62% (December 2008).[9] EDC has 11% of Venezuelan capacity, and owns the majority of conventional thermal power plants.[10][11] The rest of the power production is owned by private companies.
(EDELCA), a subsidiary of the mining companyThe national transmission system (Sistema Interconectado Nacional, SIN) is composed by four interconnected regional transmission systems operated by EDELCA, CADAFE, EDC and ENELVEN-ENELCO. Oficina de Operación del Sistema Interconectado (OPSIS), jointly owned by the four vertical integrated electric companies, operate the SIN under an RTPA[clarification needed] regime.[10]