Venezuela continues to struggle with severe electricity shortages, with a ban on illuminated billboards Wednesday being the latest measure aimed at reducing power consumption, a top priority for President Hugo Chavez. The president blames the shortages on a months-long drought attributed to changed weather patterns due to the El Nino phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean. Water levels have fallen to critical laws behind the Guri Dam, which supplies about 70 percent of the South American country's electricity.
