The left-wing leader said they should attempt to wash in less than three minutes and breaking into song distract them.
"Some people sing in the shower, in the shower half an hour. No kids, three minutes is more than enough. I've counted, three minutes, and I don't stink," he said during a televised Cabinet meeting.
Getting into his stride, he went on to label baths and jacuzzis anti-communist.
"If you are going to lie back, in the bath, with the soap and you turn on the what's it called, the Jacuzzi... imagine that, what kind of communism is that? We're not in times of Jacuzzi," he said, to laughter from his ministers.
Venezuela has suffered several serious blackouts in the past year because of rapidly growing demand and underinvestment.
It has been aggravated by a drop in water levels in hydroelectric dams that provide most of its energy.
Mr Chavez said he would create a ministry to deal with the electricity shortages, which have affected the image of his socialist revolution.