Venezuela faces hydroelectric woes

CARACAS, Venezuela, March 22 (UPI) -- The level of water behind the Guri hydroelectric dam in Venezuela is declining as the government struggles with energy issues, officials said.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared an energy emergency in February as pervasive drought caused problems for his country, which relies heavily on hydroelectric power.

Argenis Carvajal, an operations manager at the Guri dam, said the water level fell nearly 6 inches despite government efforts to control consumption, Venezuela's El Universal newspaper reports.

"Should we have not taken any measures, we would be undoubtedly (5 feet) below the present dam level and would be declining 7-8 inches on average," Carvajal said.

A plan to cut energy consumption by 20 percent in Caracas was enacted Feb. 11, though the National Electric Corp. said only 37 percent of heavy energy consumers in Caracas were meeting that goal.

Without restrictions, Carvajal said, the energy crisis would be more serve.

"This means that we would have to withdraw from the domestic electricity grid approximately 5,000 megawatts, that is, 2 1/2 cities like Caracas without power supply," said the manager.

Demand for conventional energy resources has surged as regional drought decreases productivity from the country's hydroelectric plants.