Venezuelans Forced To Take 5-Day Weekends As Drought-Fueled Blackouts Worsen

Sean Breslin
Published: April 29,2016 



 

It may sound like a worker's dream, but it's not – an extreme energy crisis in Venezuela has forced the government to mandate five-day weekends for more than two million public employees.
An El Niño-fueled drought has crippled the nation's hydroelectric dams, which provide 60 percent of Venezuela's electricity, according to Vox. As they work to minimize power outages that have lasted as long as 12 hours, President Nicolas Maduro and his staff have announced public employees should only report to work on Mondays and Tuesdays, and only on Wednesdays if they have crucial tasks to complete, Vox also reported.
(MORE: Texas Fishermen Found Clinging to Oil Platforms After Boat Capsizes)

Opposers of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro light fires during demonstrations in Maracaibo city on April 28, 2016.
(JUAN BARRETO/AFP/Getty Images)

"We are requesting international help, technical and financial aid to help revert the situation," Maduro said, according to BBC.com. "We are managing the situation in the best possible way while we wait for the rains to return."
The extended weekend is far from good news for the employees. Fewer hours means smaller paychecks, and frequent power outages can mean spoiling food and more money spent on replacing those groceries. Citizens have become more and more angry, and in recent days, looting and riots have been reported near the government's power company, the Washington Post said.
The situation at Guri Dam, which supplies 60 percent of the country's electricity, has gotten so dire that the government may soon need to shut down the power plant due to low water levels, the Post also reported. The reservoir is so low that if it drops another five feet, the turbines would stop turning and there'd be a risk of complete breakdown, the report added.
Venezuela's government has also considered other drastic measures to conserve energy. They're pushing an idea to move clocks 30 minutes ahead, which would allow for earlier darkness and less of a strain on the power grid, Vox also said. Earlier in the month, Maduro suggested women stop using hair dryers and instead allow their hair to air-dry.
"I always think a woman looks better when she just runs her fingers through her hair and lets it dry naturally," said Maduro. "It's just an idea I have."
MORE: Venezuela's Energy Crisis