Venezuela's oil and energy ministry promised to invest US$3.7bn in 5.08GW of new capacity through 2011

After an April 29 blackout left 16 states in Venezuela in the dark, the country's oil and energy ministry (Menpet) promised to invest US$3.7bn in 5.08GW of new capacity through 2011. Governmental authorities attributed the blackout to a forest fire that took out towers along a transmission line. To make matters worse, the country's Guri dam was at its capacity limit, authorities said. Menpet head and president of state oil company PDVSA, Rafael Ramírez, said that the country needed to shift towards thermo generation in order to meet demand that is growing at 9% a year. The minister also faulted former private operators for not advancing with new investments. The government nationalized the power sector in 2007. To shed light on Venezuela's power problems and government promises, BNamericas interviewed Eurasia Group's Patrick Esteruelas, an analyst who covers Venezuela.