Guri Dam

Guri Dam is a major hydroelectric dam on Venezuela’s Caroní River. Its reservoir and generating complex supply a large share of Venezuela’s electricity.

Hydroelectricity: Electricity generated by converting the energy of flowing or falling water into electrical power. Guri Dam is one of the world’s largest hydroelectric facilities.
Caroní River: A major river in southeastern Venezuela and a principal tributary of the Orinoco. Its flow supplies the water used by Guri’s generating complex.
Electrificación del Caroní: The Venezuelan state enterprise established to develop hydroelectric power on the Caroní River. The enterprise planned and developed Guri as part of the river’s power system.
Venezuelan energy crisis: A prolonged disruption of Venezuela’s energy supply, marked by blackouts and failures in electricity generation and distribution. Drought and operational problems at Guri have contributed to severe electricity shortages.
Francis turbine: A reaction turbine that extracts energy from water flowing through a runner under pressure. Francis turbines convert water flow into rotational power in hydroelectric plants.
Orinoco Basin: The drainage basin of the Orinoco River, spanning parts of Venezuela and Colombia. The Caroní belongs to this wider river system.
Raúl Leoni: Venezuelan president from 1964 to 1969, during whose administration Guri Dam construction began. His government launched the project’s construction in the 1960s.
El Niño: A recurring climate pattern involving unusually warm surface waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. El Niño-related drought can reduce inflows to the reservoir and constrain generation.
Hydroelectric generator: A machine that converts a turbine’s mechanical rotation into electrical energy. Generators turn the turbines’ rotation into electricity at Guri.
Guiana Shield: An ancient geological region of northeastern South America, composed largely of exposed crystalline rocks. The Caroní drains a high-rainfall region of the shield before reaching Guri.

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OrinocoBroader topic: Its power station serves Venezuela’s electricity system within the Orinoco basin.