Brazil VP warns country may be forced to ration electricity due to unprecedented droughts

Brazil may face a repeat of the painful situation that necessitated nine months of rationing to protect the electricity grid from failing twenty years ago, this time with a more visible climate change undertone. On Wednesday, Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao suggested that a severe drought in the country could force electricity rationing, contradicting other officials who said that such a move would be unnecessary.

Drought may force Brazil to ration power

One of the world's agricultural heavyweights, Brazil, is experiencing one of the worst droughts in a century. Rainfall shortages have depleted hydropower reservoirs, fueled inflation, and harmed farmers. The government has provided incentives to use less energy, but no rationing is envisaged, according to the administration.

"Rationing may be essential," Mourao told reporters in Brasilia, adding that the government has taken the necessary precautions to avoid blackouts.

Bento Albuquerque, Brazil's Mines and Energy Minister, stated on Tuesday that the country's energy problem is worse than previously imagined. Albuquerque claimed in a televised national address that Brazil had lost hydropower output equal to the electricity utilised by Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's second-largest city, in just five months.

Separately, the ministry announced on Tuesday that it would boost energy costs once more, with impacted customers paying an average of 6.78% more for electricity starting September 1.

Droughts in Brazil

The flow in the Paraná river basin, whose 57 dams account for more than half of the country's hydropower, was cut to critical levels during the rainy season in south-central Brazil, from October to April, according to reports. Droughts have been more common in these areas since 2001, and they have had a significant impact on power generation. Due to the depletion of its water supplies, the southern metropolis of So Paulo had to curtail its water supply between 2014 and 2015. In 2017 and 2018, Brasilia had to do the same. Curitiba, the capital of Paraná, in the southern state of Brazil, has had the same difficulty during 2020, said reports.

The current water crisis considered the worst in 91 years of observations, has resulted in a "delayed sense" of global warming in the Brazilian electrical industry, admitted the general director of the national grid operator (ONS), Luiz Carlos Ciocchi, in June of this year.

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