Venezuela to reform electricity law to open door to private firms

Venezuela will present in the coming weeks a proposed reform of the Electric Service Law to allow private companies to take part in power generation and distribution. According to Prensa Oriente, the announcement was made by acting president Delcy Rodríguez during her address to the annual assembly of Fedecámaras.

The proposed reform seeks to amend the current regulatory framework to open a sector that has historically been under strict state control. This centralized model has faced severe operational and financial difficulties due to a lack of investment and maintenance, making it necessary to seek new sources of financing to sustain the infrastructure.

This shift toward private participation comes at a critical moment for the national power grid. According to the Prensa Oriente report, authorities are currently implementing plans to restore generating capacity affected by a recent earthquake in the central and capital regions, in addition to a broader program to add new capacity to the National Electric System.

For households and industry, the crisis translates into daily service interruptions and prolonged rationing that paralyze commercial activity and erode quality of life at home. Bringing in private capital is being presented as a way to ease the state's fiscal burden and speed up the recovery of an essential public service.

Going forward, the focus will be on the legislative debate over the reform and on the regulatory conditions offered to investors, a decisive factor in determining whether the private sector will take on the risk of investing in rebuilding the system.