The cost of keeping the lights on
The cost of keeping the lights on  
Podcast: Marketplace All-in-One
Published On: Thu Apr 16 2026
Description: Power utilities plan to spend $1.4 trillion over the next five years on capital projects. A lot of that boils down to grid maintenance and projects to support additional power generation. That’s a 21% increase over what utilities were planning to spend a year ago — and it could drive up household utility bills. Then, it’s been a little over three months since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. How has Venezuela's oil industry changed since?