Venezuela punishes 80 firms for power use

Hugo is pretty harsh on his people , it seems to be what Communist Dictatorships always do to their people though , soon they will be standing in lines fighting over scraps of food , all the while the fatass Dicktator will be packing on some pounds and livin large !


(Reuters) - Venezuela announced on Sunday 24-hour power cutoffs for dozens of companies that have failed to reduce usage in the first punitive measures of a nationwide drive to save energy amid an electricity crisis.

Restaurants, liquor stores, hotels, gyms, car dealerships and a yacht club were on the list of 80 firms in the capital Caracas due to have their power cut on Monday for failing to bring consumption down 20 percent, the state utility said.

The local unit of Japanese firm Sony Corp will also be among those sanctioned.

President Hugo Chavez's government has introduced rationing, and demanded power cuts across the South American OPEC member, to cope with an electricity shortage that is jeopardizing Venezuela's ability to pull out of a recession.

Drought has hit the hydroelectric sector that produces more than 70 percent of Venezuela's electricity. Rains are due in weeks, with some showers already starting in recent days, and the government says fears of a "collapse" are unfounded.

The opposition, preparing for a September legislative election being cast as a referendum on Chavez and a curtain-raiser for the 2012 presidential vote, says he is to blame for incompetent management of the power sector.

Polls show Chavez's traditionally high popularity, especially among the poor, is suffering from the power crisis.

The latest survey, by Alfredo Keller and Associates, which is perceived by many to favor the opposition, gave Chavez a 43 percent approval rating, saying it was his lowest since 2003.

Only 26 percent thought the government was taking the right measures in the electricity campaign, according to the poll, made public on Sunday by private TV network Globovision.