This 1100 word article published in Americas Quarterly examines the dramatic decline of Venezuela’s electricity sector and the urgent need for modernization to support national recovery. Here is our summary:
Once considered one of the most advanced and integrated power systems in Latin America, Venezuela’s grid has deteriorated after years of nationalization, corruption, underinvestment, and technical mismanagement.
The piece highlights recent blackouts, refinery shutdowns, reduced work schedules, and chronic shortages as evidence of a system in crisis that now threatens both economic stability and daily life.
The article argues that restoring reliable electricity is essential to rebuilding Venezuela’s economy, particularly its oil and industrial sectors.
It outlines a series of recovery strategies, including restoring thermal generation capacity through natural gas utilization, encouraging private independent power producers, deploying decentralized microgrids, and expanding renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Battery energy storage systems are also presented as critical tools for improving grid reliability and flexibility.
Successful reconstruction will require dismantling the current state monopoly structure, creating legal protections for investors
The piece further emphasizes that successful reconstruction will require dismantling the current state monopoly structure, creating legal protections for investors, and establishing credible institutions capable of attracting long-term international financing.
Experts cited estimate that rebuilding the sector could require as much as $13 billion in investment over the first three years alone.
NOTE: The 1100 word story was written by Francisco Morandi and Luisa Palacios and published Feb 12, 2026 in Americas Quarterly (AQ) an award-winning publication dedicated to politics, business and culture in the Americas.
VZ Economics Premium Level Subscribers get access to additional information and links to related content and background information for the experts:
Francisco Morandi is an energy strategist with prior leadership roles at AES Corporation, including strategic planning for AES Electricidad de Caracas.
Background: The AES Corporation acquired a controlling stake in Electricidad de Caracas in 2000, modernizing what was then Venezuela’s largest privately operated electricity utility and one of the most sophisticated power systems in Latin America. The company supplied electricity to Greater Caracas and became a central pillar of the country’s power infrastructure before being nationalized by the government of Hugo Chávez in 2007 as part of a broader state takeover of strategic industries.
Luisa Palacios is an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, Adjunct Faculty at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Background: Luisa served as Chairwoman of CITGO Petroleum Corporation for roughly two years. She joined the board in February 2019 and completed her tenure in March 2021, serving as the company’s first-ever chairwoman during a particularly turbulent period involving sanctions, governance restructuring, and creditor disputes tied to Venezuela. CITGO has long been considered one of Venezuela’s most valuable foreign assets because it provides direct access to the U.S. fuel market through refining, logistics, and retail distribution.
Link to the 1100 word story at AQ. LINK
