Officials said the cutbacks are a direct result of low water levels in the Guri hydroelectric dam, one of the largest in the world, astride the Caroni River in Bolivar state. In normal conditions the dam generates enough power to meet the needs of most of Venezuela, but persistent drought has forced the shutdown of parts of the complex.

Critics of Chavez within and outside the political opposition blame government mismanagement of the resource for the current crisis, which began intermittently earlier this year.

Chavez has accused business and industry managers of wasting electricity and warned factory owners of hefty fines for careless use of electricity supplies. But electricity cuts have become endemic and have impacted on economy and lifestyles, as shutdowns play havoc with refrigeration and other critical business and domestic uses of power.

The power shortages have caused severe scarcity of consumer goods. Chavez has responded by announcing the creation of a network of "socialist" shops to supply everyday items at affordable prices.

The government said the shops would combat speculation in consumer goods, but critics said they lacked the capacity to counter the effects of shortages and black market in goods.

Analysts said unless there was a dramatic increase in rain that replenished water in the dam, Venezuela could face a more serious problem with water and electricity next year. Energy Minister Angel Rodriguez said the current conservation measures were necessary to make sure the dam had enough water to keep running next year.

The government has told businesses they need to cut energy use by 20 percent to ease the current draw on the dam's depleted resources.

Meanwhile, Chavez has pumped resources into the socialist shops to entice consumers away from black marketeers and profiteers and attract them to the shops, where quality goods are intended to be available at greatly reduced prices.

The selling price for arepas fresh corn at the socialist shops is likely to be a fifth of the price demanded by local sellers. "We're going to push out of the market all the junk food that only makes people fatter," said Chavez.

"And we will also sell cars, very nice cars and very cheap," he added.

Analysts said, however, the current energy crisis could rebound on Chavez if he fails to address the problem currently blamed by his government on the weather.

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