Venezuela signs deal with US energy giant to rebuild power grid

Venezuela's interim president has signed an agreement with US energy giant General Electric to rebuild the country's electricity grid.

Delcy Rodríguez, who was sworn in shortly after US forces seized Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January, announced the move at a televised event at the presidential palace on Monday.

The agreement is the latest sign that the interim leader - who was a fierce critic of the US before Maduro's ouster - is opening up Venezuela's economy to US investors and companies.

Critics of her government have warned that while Rodríguez appears to be loosening the state's control over the economy, many key institutions remain firmly under her party's control.

Venezuela suffers from frequent power cuts and its power system - which was nationalised in 2007 under Maduro's mentor, Hugo Chávez - is in dire need of repair and investment.

Rodríguez described the signing of the agreement with General Electric Vernova, the US company's local branch, as "a historic step for Venezuela", which would allow the South American nation to restore what she called "an essential service".

Power cuts often last 10 hours or longer and have affected major cities, including the capital, Caracas.

The Maduro government had blamed a drought for the frequent outages, which meant that the Guri hydroelectric power dam - a key source of electricity - was not producing enough energy to meet demand.