Only half of Venezuela's turbines operational - report

Only 100 of a total of 211 turbines in Venezuela's power plants are operational, according to a report in local outlet El Carabobeño.

The outlet cited Venezuelan engineer and electricity-sector expert José Aguilar, who said the country only has 16,097MW available out of its installed capacity of 33,333MW.

Aguilar said that the problem is not related to investments, with US$94.2bn allotted to the sector from 1998 to 2013. Yet the investment amount and number of plants built are disproportionate to the megawatts available for Corpoelec, which has had to resort to power rationing.

This news comes after energy minister Jesse Chacón Escamillo announced operational updates regarding the country's hydroelectric plants, including Guri and Planta Centro.