Oil rich Venezuela embraces 2-day workweek to save power

Yahoo News:  The socialist administration began imposing a four-hour daily blackout around the country this week to save electricity. Then, Maduro announced that millions of officials will now work only Mondays and Tuesdays, taking the rest of the week off in a bid to save electricity.

On Wednesday, more than 1,000 police fanned out around the western city of Maracaibo after a night of riots. More than 100 people were arrested there for looting that damaged dozens of businesses, according to local governor Francisco Arias, who supports the Maduro government. Venezuela is among the world's most violent countries, and crime generally spikes here when the lights go out.

Some Venezuelans complain that the country is starting to resemble the dystopian series "The Hunger Games," in which districts suffer for the benefit of a heartless capital city.

Venezuela's economy is projected to contract 8 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

People working for the state, the country's largest employer, will be paid for the days they stay home. Some have been using their Fridays off to wait in lines to buy groceries and other goods. Others have been going home to watch TV and run the air conditioning, leading critics to say the furlough is not an effective energy-saving measure.

"Venezuela energy crisis: President tells women to stop using hairdryers"

Independent:  [Maduro] urged his compatriots to increase other efforts to save power, including cutting appliance use and raising the temperature on air conditioning units.

Recommending that women reduce hairdryer use to “special occasions”, Mr Maduro added: “I always think a woman looks better when she just runs her fingers through her hair and lets it dry naturally. It's just an idea I have."

He also called on Venezuelans to make small changes to their routines, including embracing the tropical heat and hanging clothes out to dry instead of using tumble dryers.

Mr Maduro gave workers a full week off in March to save electricity, and cut the hours of more than 100 shopping centres across the country in the previous month. 

Together with other measures, he hopes to reduce electricity consumption by at least 20 per cent.

His predecessor, Hugo Chavez, promised to solve the problem in 2010, but little has improved.

Via Reddit