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【text/guocha.com liu chenghui】since the early morning of august 30, local time, venezuela has suffered a nationwide power outage, affecting 23 states and the capital region, and causing the interruption of cargo loading and unloading at major oil ports. as of 17:00 local time, power supply has been restored in at least eight major cities, including the capital caracas. venezuelan president maduro blamed the "violent destruction" of the country's major hydroelectric power stations by the opposition, but this accusation was denied by opposition figures.

according to reuters and the associated press (ap), the power outage began at around 4:50 a.m. on the 30th, causing businesses to suspend operations and hospitals to rely on backup generators. in caracas, the subway stopped running, stranding tens of thousands of people, and the interruption of mobile phone services caused trouble for some residents' communications. in the western city of barquisimeto, residents began to stockpile gasoline and food. a 29-year-old lawyer named rivas said she needed to stockpile items to deal with any emergency. "we have experienced two national power outages, which makes us very nervous."

reuters cited sources and a shipping document as saying that the power outage affected some operations of venezuelan state oil company pdvsa, such as the interruption of ship loading and unloading at the main oil port of jose in venezuela. however, pdvsa's refinery in paraguana was not affected because it was equipped with generators.

venezuelan residents told reuters that as of 13:00 local time, power had been restored in parts of the western city of maracaibo, the central city of valencia, the eastern city of puerto ordaz and the capital caracas. in the evening, after a day of sporadic blackouts, power had been restored in many parts of the capital.

local sources told xinhua reporters that as of 17:00, power supply had been restored in at least eight major cities, including caracas, ciudad bolivar, the capital of bolivar state, and los teques, the capital of miranda state.

venezuelan information and communications minister niáñez said in a video posted on social media that 23 states and the capital region had reported full or partial power outages. he believed this was "deliberate sabotage" launched by the opposition and a "desperate" attempt by maduro's opponents to violently overthrow the president.

“the entire national government has been mobilized to overcome this new aggression,” niáñez said.

"this is a consistent strategy of the opposition, of the country's enemies, aimed at influencing the population," said venezuela's interior and justice minister antonio cabello.

on the evening of the 30th, maduro delivered a speech on venezuelan state television. he thanked the venezuelan people for their patience during the chaotic day.

he said the blackout was caused by an attack on the guri dam, venezuela's largest hydroelectric project, and accused the opposition of focusing its attacks on transmission lines.

"this was an attack of considerable size," maduro said, adding that the investigation into the incident was progressing rapidly. he did not provide further details.

in response to maduro's accusations, opposition lawmaker juan pablo guanipa responded on social media x, saying that "even the most radical 'chavezists' don't believe this."

venezuela held a presidential election on july 28, and the venezuelan national electoral council announced maduro's victory in the early hours of the next day. on august 22, the venezuelan supreme court confirmed maduro's victory in the presidential election. however, the opposition questioned the election results, and its supporters took to the streets to protest.

this is not the first time venezuela has suffered a large-scale power outage. in march 2019, venezuela suffered a nationwide power outage that lasted for nearly a week. the venezuelan government also said afterwards that the power outage was caused by the opposition's deliberate sabotage of the guri hydropower station, the most important power supply system. in july of the same year, venezuela suffered another large-scale power outage, which was caused by an electromagnetic attack on the guri hydropower station.

at the same time, energy experts pointed out that venezuela's power system has been plagued by poor maintenance, lack of alternative energy supply and loss of engineering talent.

this article is an exclusive article of observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.