RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s national power grid operator (ONS) has asked electricity generators to postpone maintenance and technical work for as long as possible to help prevent the energy crisis stemming from the country’s worst drought in almost a century from worsening.
ONS director general Luiz Carlos Ciocchi told Reuters that the situation is worrying, but under control, and insisted there is no risk of energy rationing.
Ciocchi said the ONS put out the request in recent days. Power generators should try and hold off any maintenance or stoppages until at least until the beginning of the rainy season, which is around November.
“This kind of request and negotiation (with power generators) is quite common. It is to be expected,” he told Reuters on Saturday.
Severe drought is disrupting hydroelectric dams, the main source of power generation in Brazil. Hydro dams have reported the lowest water inflows in more than 90 years amid the drought, pushing up prices and boosting broader inflation rates.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
