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| Venezuelans get Fridays off for two months in emergency plan 'to save energy' | Venezuelans get Fridays off for two months in emergency plan 'to save energy' |
| (7 days later) | |
| Venezuelan workers will get Fridays off in the months of April and May, in a bid to save energy in the black-out hit country, the president said. | Venezuelan workers will get Fridays off in the months of April and May, in a bid to save energy in the black-out hit country, the president said. |
| President Nicolas Maduro said Venezuelans will have “long weekends” in an appearance on state television on Wednesday night, announcing the measure as part of a 60-day plan to fight a power crunch. | President Nicolas Maduro said Venezuelans will have “long weekends” in an appearance on state television on Wednesday night, announcing the measure as part of a 60-day plan to fight a power crunch. |
| “This plan for 60 days, for two months, will allow the country to get through the most difficult period with the most risk. I call on families, on the youth, to join this plan with discipline, with conscience and extreme collaboration to confront this extreme situation,” Maduro said. | “This plan for 60 days, for two months, will allow the country to get through the most difficult period with the most risk. I call on families, on the youth, to join this plan with discipline, with conscience and extreme collaboration to confront this extreme situation,” Maduro said. |
| The government’s plan will be effective from this Friday and last until June 6, according to Agence France Presse. | The government’s plan will be effective from this Friday and last until June 6, according to Agence France Presse. |
| Some Venezuelans took it to social media to express their surprise. | Some Venezuelans took it to social media to express their surprise. |
| Many others wondered how the measure would impact schools, bureaucratic procedures and supermarkets. | Many others wondered how the measure would impact schools, bureaucratic procedures and supermarkets. |
| It was not immediately clear how the non-working Fridays would affect the public and private sector. | It was not immediately clear how the non-working Fridays would affect the public and private sector. |
| The announcement comes after the President shut down the country for a week over the Easter period as an energy crisis gripped the country. | The announcement comes after the President shut down the country for a week over the Easter period as an energy crisis gripped the country. |
| The traditional two-day Easter holiday was extended by three days, effectively closing the country, which is also in the throes of an economic crisis, for a full working week. | The traditional two-day Easter holiday was extended by three days, effectively closing the country, which is also in the throes of an economic crisis, for a full working week. |
| The majority of electricity in the country is supplied by hydropower, from infrastructure such as the 10.2-gigawatt Guri Dam in the eastern Bolivar state. | The majority of electricity in the country is supplied by hydropower, from infrastructure such as the 10.2-gigawatt Guri Dam in the eastern Bolivar state. |
| However, due to a drought, the water reserves which are needed to power hydroelectricity are extremely low. | However, due to a drought, the water reserves which are needed to power hydroelectricity are extremely low. |