2024 Venezuelan blackouts
| Part of Energy crisis in Venezuela | |
| Date | 27 August 2024 – ongoing |
|---|---|
| Time | (VET) |
| Location | Venezuela (nationwide) |
| Type | Power outage |
| Cause | Energy crisis in Venezuela |
| Outcome | Total and partial blackouts in all Venezuelan states |
The 2024 Venezuelan blackouts were a series of interruptions to Venezuela's electrical service nationwide. The interruptions began on 27 August with a blackout that affected 12 states in the country at around 7:12 pm VET, lasting until service restorations began at approximately 8:30 pm. On 30 August, another blackout was recorded that left more than 20 states in the country without electricity, beginning at 4:50 am and leaving a significant portion of the nation without power for 12 hours, with harder-hit areas not having power for 20 hours. Outages were again reported in Caracas on 1 September, continuing as of 3 September and through 5 September.
Highly dependent on the hydroelectric plant at Guri Dam, Venezuela has experienced frequent electrical outages for at least a decade; the administration of Nicolás Maduro often attributes blackouts to those who oppose him, while experts and the opposition attribute them to poor maintenance and a lack of infrastructure investment, official corruption and incompetence, and a loss of talented workers due to the Venezuelan refugee crisis.
The Maduro administration attributed the blackouts to an alleged sabotage against the country's electrical system, without specifying the culprits and without giving more information. In the context of the political crisis following the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, Diosdado Cabello—recently appointed by Maduro as Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace—claimed that the government already had information about alleged attacks and would enforce justice based on its findings. On 4 September, without revealing any other information, Cabello said 11 people had been arrested.