Intermittent gas supply in Venezuela, an unresolved failure

In various areas of Venezuela -the country with the eighth gas reserves in the world-, the gas supply for domestic use is intermittent, despite the fact that the three months that the president Nicolas Maduro He gave his officials to solve the “serious” problems that have been dragging on for years in this service.

Last May, the head of state indicated that the affected states were Yaracuy, Táchira, Carabobo, Barinas, Aragua, Bolívar and Trujillo.

According to the monitoring carried out by the Venezuelan Observatory of Public Services (OVSP), “There are still deficiencies in the domestic gas service for August 2023” in those regions.

For its part, the Basic Services Monitor of the Public Expenditure Observatory of the NGO Cedice Libertad points out that, on average, waiting times to recharge a gas bottle -on which the vast majority of the country depends- are up to two weeks in urban areas, and from three to five in rural areas, so citizens try to dose the resource or take their forecasts.

black market

One of the two bottles that a soup kitchen has in San Blas, a sector of Petare -the largest favela in Venezuela-, is empty, and the other “he has about two days left”said Anabel Rodríguez, coordinator of this space, which gives lunch to 65 low-income children.

“For us, the gas supplys is vital (…) Many of them (children) sometimes arrive here where they don’t even have breakfast in their stomachs. This meal is their first meal of the day, and sometimes the only one, that’s why we don’t stop and always look for a way”Rodriguez assured.

He explained that, in this community, they can spend at least a month without being able to recharge the cylinders, and there is not always availability for all the inhabitants. The last time they were able to do so, officially, was on July 31.

“This causes us the problem that sometimes our gas supply runs out and we don’t have enough to cook”said.

For “do not stop the dining room service”, has had to resort to the black market, where for a 10-kilo cylinder, which costs 30 bolivars (92 US cents) through the official channel, one pays between US$5 and US$10, he said.

“We have compañeras who cook with firewood in their area, but here we don’t have a space, a piece of land, to cook with firewood,” pointed.

The wait is longer in a town in Aragua (north), where the inhabitants receive the notice to recharge the cylinder “Every two months”, approximately, and after delivering it they have to wait “up to two weeks” to receive it full. Also, they only allow one cylinder per family, said a resident.

According to the Basic Services Monitor, between 20% and 30% of the population receives direct gas, and the rest depends on gas cylinders.

A recent survey carried out by the observatory of 2,300 people in cities and rural areas revealed that 60% of Venezuelans consider that the process of filling cylinders is “unstable and uncertain”.

In addition, 65% of citizens have chosen to pay extra fees for “obtain preferences in supply”.

slight improvements

The Public Expenditure Observatory researcher, Raúl Córdoba, said that, in general, “the failures continue”although there have been recently “signs of improvement”which have been translated into “an increase in frequency” of “one or even two days” in some areas.

However, waiting times persist forcing citizens to “use electric stoves” and, “in some cases, firewood or improvised fire.”

Furthermore, many of the carboys are “outdated” and “deteriorated” and they have not been replaced. The company that can manufacture them, the state-owned Siderúrgica del Orinoco (Sidor), “is having investment problems” to produce them, he assured.

According to the study, “Only 2 out of 10 cylinders have a new design and technology.”

In Córdoba’s opinion, three necessary actions to recover the service are to diagnose the problem, invest and “modify schema” lagging rates, setting prices that cover operation and maintenance costs.

Venezuela has “significant” gas reserves, amounting to 196 trillion “normal cubic feet”which places the country “among the top ten globally”.

The Government attributes this and other problems to international sanctions, which are also rejected by analysts, businessmen, opponents and various NGOs, who are calling for these measures to be lifted.

Source: EFE