Crystallex International

Blackout in Miraflores

Faults in electricity supply have become a daily occurrence in Venezuela, but the power problems will not seem to affect the presidential palace, until now.

President Hugo Chávez was in the midst of a lengthy televised speech, when the Venezuelan television transmission was interrupted. The TV screens were with static for a couple of seconds, and was followed by a commercial that urges Venezuelans to save electricity.

APTN's camera caught the moment that went dark for a minute and 20 seconds the Ayacucho Hall of the presidential palace when Chavez gave a press conference.

After a minute electrical service returned to the salon and Chavez called in full measure to the general service charge of the presidential palace to get first hand details of the incident.

The president told the audience that the brief blackout was due to the presidential palace began work in the morning with a plant, as part of the energy rationing plan, and was disconnected from the national power generation system.