Another power blackout hits Venezuela ahead of vote

CARACAS (Reuters) - A large power blackout hit Venezuela on Sunday in the latest of a series of electricity grid failures that have become a political liability for President Hugo Chavez in the OPEC nation.

Oil operations in one of the world's largest crude exporters were unaffected by the outage because they use separate grids from residential networks, a state oil company spokesman said.

Sunday's blackout hit areas in and around the capital Caracas, at least three other major cities and a tourist coastal region, residents said. A top electricity official told state television eight central states were affected although power was gradually being restored in some areas.

Still, this blackout was set to cause less disruption to Venezuelans than previous large ones this year that struck on weekday afternoons, causing chaos for commuters.

Chavez, who nationalized the biggest privately owned power company last year, has acknowledged Venezuela has a creaking electricity infrastructure due to years of under-investment.

While he has warned voters that improvements could take time, polls show Venezuelans are increasingly concerned about the blackouts as he faces tough regional elections across the country in little over a month.

For the first time in his political career, Chavez lost a major vote last year -- a referendum on expanding his powers -- in part because Venezuelans were disgruntled that he failed to address basic problems such as periodic food shortages.

Political analysts say now that he has resolved the food shortages, the blackouts could come to symbolize for voters Chavez's failings.