CARACAS, March 11. /TASS/. The power supply of the Venezuelan capital Caracas is restoring, TASS reported from the scene.
After dark it could be seen that a considerable part of the street lighting system had started operating, and there was light in some houses. Caracas residents also reported the renewal of the electric power supply.
On Thursday evening, Caracas and most Venezuelan states were left without electricity. These are 20 or 22 out of 23 states, according to the local media. Thus, almost the whole territory of the country had no electricity. It is the longest power outage within the capital residents’ memory.
The incident was reportedly caused by a sabotage at the Simon Bolivar Hydroelectric Plant in Bolivar State, which is the largest in the country. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro blamed the "American imperialism" for the incident. The US Department of State refuted these accusations.
On Friday evening the electricity supply improved, but deteriorated again on Saturday afternoon after a report of an explosion at the electric power station located on the outskirts of Ciudad Bolivar, the capital of Venezuela’s southeastern Bolivar State. Venezuela’s government declared Monday, March 11, to be a nonworking day due to the absence of electricity.