Chavez declared a national emergency on February 8 after a drought severely affected water levels at the Guri Lake, home to Venezuela's largest dam.
Water could soon fall below the level needed to produce 6.3GW. Venezuela is purchasing 880MW of GE of hydro-turbines in an attempt to alleviate the problem.
In addition, there are reports Venezuela is co-operating with Argentina over plans to develop a joint wind power project. Chavez has also said the country would look to develop nuclear power in an effort to avoid a repeat of the current situation.
Additionally Chavez is attempting to buy electricity from Columbia and is also believed to be talking to Cuba in an attempt to forestall a crisis.
