Lights Out in Venezuela (BusinessWeek Online)

By Peter Wilson Thu Jun 5, 8:08 AM ET Angela Marquez should be pleased, considering the long line of customers at her paint store in the central Venezuelan city of La Victoria, an hour west of the capital of Caracas. There is only one problem: She can't ring up any purchases because the city is having another one of its frequent power blackouts. "This is completely ridiculous," Marquez fumes, as customers weigh whether to wait for the power to return. "It's impossible to run a business in conditions like this. And it's only getting worse." Although Venezuela has the region's largest oil and natural gas reserves, its electrical system has been neglected for years by successive governments. In April, large parts of the country, including the capital of Caracas, were without power for hours, resulting in chaos. Huge traffic jams... [read full story]