An energy collapse in the state of Zulia, Venezuela occurred as a result of the country's ongoing general crisis, and it is the largest of its kind in the history of the state. With previous events in 2015 and 2016, the collapse intensified in 2017, when in September an alleged theft of cables left the city of Maracaibo (considered the second most important municipality in the country) and its surroundings without electricity. Since then long and short-term blackouts have been reported, which also cause the suspension of water supply, failures in cable television, telephone coverage and Internet access, among other services, as well as difficulty conducting business transactions, caused by the scarcity of banknotes and the dependence on the large-scale use of the point of sale terminals as well as electronic payments (such as wire transfers) that are deficient in the absence of electricity and the Internet, resulting in closing of establishments, absence of work, damage of food and electrical appliances, the decrease in quality of life, among other factors, which added to the high temperatures suffered by citizens, affect the normal development of the population. Authorities such as the national government and the government of Zulia (headed by governor Omar Prieto) have attributed these failures to an alleged sabotage, but the opposition and experts denounce that it is due to lack of maintenance, also arguing that only less than half of what is consumed regularly is produced, reason for which there is "cargo administration" (rationing). The National Assembly of Venezuela, of opposition majority, declared the region in a state of electrical emergency. The service has also been interrupted but to a lesser extent in other states such as Bolívar, Carabobo, Falcón, Mérida, Miranda, Nueva Esparta, Táchira, Vargas and the country's capital Caracas.