If shortages of food and medicine, raging inflation and an economy expected to contract 6% this year weren’t enough, urgent energy-saving steps ordered early this month have provided Venezuelans with yet another worry. On April 6, authorities called on public employees to work four-day weeks; malls and hotels to generate much of their own energy; and heavy industry to cut electricity use by 20%. The measures form part of a 60-day emergency plan announced by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to forestall a looming energy crisis and preserve generating capacity at hydroelectric facilities, which are plagued by low water levels. The effort may or may not succeed, analysts say. Water levels at the 10,200-megawatt Simón Bolívar hydroelectric station, otherwise known as the... [Log in to read more]