VOA时事新闻2023 委内瑞拉西部在热浪期间停电（在线收听）

People in central Venezuela are losing electricity service regularly.

委内瑞拉中部经常停电。

The lack of power means Venezuelans cannot cool their homes during a heat wave.

缺电意味着委内瑞拉人在热浪中无法给家里降温。

Lack of electricity also means that factories, homes and basic service providers, or utilities, have no power.

缺电还意味着工厂、家庭和基本服务提供者（即公用事业）没有电。

Citizens, engineers, and researchers say electricity producing stations are failing to provide enough electricity when hydroelectric dams have low water levels.

市民、工程师和研究人员表示，当使用水力发电的大坝水位较低时，发电站无法提供足够的电力。

"It is inhumane that in a city like this they cut our power during the hottest hours," said 42-year-old Mariana Barboza in Maracaibo, where temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius.

马拉开波42岁的玛丽安娜·巴尔博萨说，“在这样一个城市，他们在最热的时候切断我们的电力，这是不人道的。”马拉开波的气温高达40摄氏度。

Reuters news service says long power cuts had been avoided in recent years because demand has dropped sharply.

路透社称，由于需求急剧下降，近年来避免了长期停电。

Also, President Nicolas Maduro's government has aimed to improve power lines.

此外，总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗的政府也致力于改善输电线。

But outages have returned.

但现在又断电了。

Now, they are affecting the capital Caracas, which had not experienced them too often in the past.

目前，断电正在影响首都加拉加斯，而加拉加斯过去很少断电。

People from Caracas said the cuts last for at least four hours a day.

来自加拉加斯的人说，每天至少停电四个小时。

Maduro said recently that Venezuela's average temperature rose four degrees Celsius this year.

马杜罗近日表示，委内瑞拉今年的平均气温上升了4摄氏度。

During part of the year, electricity-producing dams have reduced water flow while demand for electricity to cool homes increases.

在一年中的部分时间里，发电大坝的水流量减少，而家庭制冷用电需求增加。

This has led to reports of a public water supply that is not always available, and unstable electricity at factories and oil operations.

这导致有报道称，公共供水并不总是可以获得，工厂和石油作业的电力不稳定。

There have also been times when telecommunications services are unavailable.

也曾有电信服务中断的时候。

The city of Maracaibo is the capital of Zulia, a state in the west of the country.

马拉开波市是该国西部苏利亚州的首府。

Reuters reported that some public hospitals in the state were told to begin operating their own power stations.

据路透社报道，该州的一些公立医院被告知开始使用自己的发电站。

That is because the local government cannot secure dependable power.

这是因为地方政府无法确保可靠的电力供应。

A person with knowledge of the plan spoke to the news agency.

一名了解该计划的人士接受了该通讯社的采访。

Venezuela's information ministry and state power company Corpoelec did not answer requests for comment by Reuters.

委内瑞拉信息部和国家电力公司Corpoelec没有回应路透社的置评请求。

Venezuela's main power supply comes from the Guri Dam in the south of the country.

委内瑞拉的主要电力供应来自该国南部的古里水坝。

But the dam produces less electricity when water levels are low before the rainy season.

但当雨季前水位较低时，大坝产生的电力就会减少。

In 2019, Venezuela's power transport system collapsed.

2019年，委内瑞拉的电力运输系统崩溃。

It left almost the whole country without electricity for four days.

它几乎使整个国家断电四天。

The government has made improvements to the power transportation lines since then to avoid a similar crisis.

自那以后，政府对电力运输线路进行了改进，以避免发生类似的危机。

But researchers say that even some of the recently built fuel-powered plants are out of service because of a lack of fuel, delayed repairs, and lack of replacement parts.

但研究人员表示，即使是最近建成的一些燃料发电厂也因燃料短缺、维修延误和缺乏更换零件而无法使用。

That leaves the power system at risk of outages whenever demand is above the 12,000 Megawatts (MW) usually produced by the Guri Dam.

这使得每当需求超过古里水坝通常产生的1.2万兆瓦时，电力系统就会面临停电的风险。

In May, independent estimates showed that the daily demand for electricity reached almost 13,000 Megawatts.

5月，独立机构估计，每天的电力需求接近1.3万兆瓦。

However, that number is down from the 19,000 Megawatts that used to be needed 10 years ago.

然而，这一数字低于10年前的1.9万兆瓦。

"Even being robust, the Guri also gets tired," said engineer Isnaldo Jimenez from the Association of Electricians and Mechanics in Carabobo state.

卡拉波波州电工和机械师协会的工程师伊斯纳尔多·希门尼斯说：“即使古里水坝很‘强壮’，它也会感到‘疲惫’。”

He was talking about the high demand for electricity from the dam when other plants cannot provide enough power.

他指的是在其他电厂无法提供足够电力的情况下，人们对古里水坝产电量的高需求。

State oil company PDVSA is struggling to meet the country's fuel needs for electricity production and gasoline stations.

委内瑞拉国有石油公司PDVSA正在努力满足该国电力生产和加油站的燃料需求。

The company also faces restrictions from the U.S. government.

该公司还面临美国政府的制裁。

But even with more fuel, plants would not operate up to their abilities because the electricity system needs $15 billion in development to overcome central problems, said Juan Carlos Rodriguez.

胡安·卡洛斯·罗德里格斯说，但即使有更多的燃料，发电厂也无法发挥其最大能力，因为电力系统需要150亿美元的发展资金来克服核心问题。

He is with the business advice company JCR Engineers.

他供职于商业咨询公司JCR Engineers。

The system's lack of dependability has not stopped the government from increasing electricity costs for buyers.

虽然该系统缺乏可靠性，但却并没有阻止政府提高购电者的电费。

"We cannot catch a breath," said 62-year-old vegetable seller Augusto Gonzalez in Maracaibo.

马拉开波62岁的蔬菜小贩奥古斯托·冈萨雷斯说：“我们喘不过气来。”

"I arrive in my shop every day to try to sell something, but if power was cut in the middle of the night, we lose our produce."

“我每天都到我的店里卖东西，但如果半夜停电，我们就会失去产品。”

I'm Gregory Stachel.

格雷戈里·施塔赫尔为您播报。