‘We are desperate’: Venezuela’s power cuts fuel growing public anger

What Happened

Across Venezuela, prolonged daily power cuts are fuelling public anger, with residents staging cacerolazos, blocking roads and setting tyres on fire. In Valencia, Carabobo state, 34-year-old dialysis patient Onasis Munoz said outages at his clinic now occur daily, lasting around seven hours; emergency batteries are depleted and the backup generator no longer works. A study by ANOVA Policy Research found 62.8 percent of Venezuelan households experienced daily electricity cuts in 2026, up from 37.1 percent in 2024, and only 6.9 percent reported continuous supply. The article reports that in January the US conducted a military operation to abduct and imprison then-President Nicolas Maduro, after which Delcy Rodriguez became interim president. Some cuts are deliberate as the Rodriguez government rations electricity; the government blames El Niño and notes that 90 percent of generation is hydropower, while energy specialist Nelson Hernandez attributed the crisis to systematic infrastructure neglect, ageing technology and oil-sector demand of about 1,600 MW.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The electricity crisis links Venezuela's revived oil industry to instability in basic services. Oil production rose almost 30 percent from 924,000 barrels per day in January to 1.201 million in August, according to OPEC, increasing electricity demand from extraction and refining. The resulting daily blackouts are eroding public tolerance of the Rodriguez government and could trigger wider unrest in an oil-rich country whose economy depends on oil exports, while testing the sustainability of the post-Maduro US-Venezuela arrangement.

Watch For

Monitor whether the Rodriguez government meets its commitment to add 1,300 megawatts of generation in the final quarter of the year and whether legal measures forcing energy companies to build electrical infrastructure reduce residential cuts. Watch OPEC monthly output data for further oil-production increases and any signs of renewed protests or road blockades, especially in Carabobo, Zulia and Aragua states. Also track drought and El Niño conditions that could further strain hydropower generation.