Nueva Esparta state votes for Seneca referendum

Lawmakers in Venezuela's Nueva Esparta state legislative council decided in a unanimous vote to back a referendum on whether state electricity company Seneca should have its concession revoked, lawmaker Ramón Pino told BNamericas. Pro-Chávez lawmakers in the legislature are collecting signatures on a petition calling for the referendum. Pino said collecting the signatures "will be very easy" because Spartans are "tired" of Seneca's service, which Pino described as "disastrous." If everything goes according to plan, the petition should be submitted to Venezuela's main electoral body, the CNE, in May. Inhabitants of the state - home of the resort island of Margarita - will be asked if they are happy with the service Seneca provides with the idea of ending Seneca's contract and awarding it to a different company. US-based CMS Energy acquired a controlling stake in Seneca during a partial experiment with privatization in the 1990s. The company received two concessions from the Rafael Caldera administration, one for exclusive distribution in Nueva Esparta state for 50 years and the other for exclusive power generation for 10 years. Venezuela has standing legislation that allows the government to take over companies that are deemed "of public interest" or that are providing deficient service. If the referendum goes ahead, it could signal a rollback of the privatization measures adopted by Venezuela's government in the mid-1990s. Seneca did not return BNamericas' phone calls seeking comment.