Brazil might import electricity from neighbors

Executive Secretary Luiz Eduardo Barata of the Ministry of Mines and Energy said Monday (Jun 15) that imports of electricity from neighboring countries may be expanded in a bid to prevent an energy shortage in Brazil. “We'll start working immediately so we're not caught by surprise in the summer, as happened early this year,” he noted.

Eduardo Barata also reported that levels at reservoirs faced a significant reduction due to the dry spell last year.

Among the countries that might come to provide energy to Brazil in case of crisis, the secretary named Argentina and Uruguay. According to him, “Uruguay has considerably increased its energy park, and the country's interested in offering its surplus,” he declared.

The secretary explained that the National Agency for Electric Energy (Aneel) is expected to set the rules for the sale of energy surplus by companies that generate their own energy.

In February, Aneel made changes to the norms for international contracts for buying and selling electric energy. Earlier, importing and exporting agents were only entitled to a single deal a month. After the decision, a new agreement can be signed every week.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira