RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday, May 10, that Brazil is experiencing the greatest water crisis in its history, alerting that the issue is serious and will hinder electricity generation.
“We are facing a serious issue, we are experiencing the biggest hydrological crisis in history, of electricity, it will cause problems,” Bolsonaro told supporters outside the Alvorada Palace.
“I am only alerting you that this is the biggest crisis ever. Just more bad luck, right? And it usually rains until March, now we’re at the stage where there is no rain. But that’s ok, let’s see how we can handle this,” he added.
Amid the impacts of the worst rainy season in two decades on the production of hydroelectric plants, the main source of power generation in Brazil, the electricity system should continue to be pressured by higher costs until 2022, said the director general of the National Electric System Operator (ONS).
The situation is likely to demand heavy use of thermal plants, which raise costs for consumers, according to the head of ONS, Luiz Carlos Ciocchi, although he stressed that he sees no risk of shortage of supply or rationing, also due to the impacts of the crisis triggered by the coronavirus.
Last week, the Electricity Sector Monitoring Committee (CMSE) comprising government officials and members of technical bodies, including the ONS, agreed to the possibility of additional measures to meet demand, including more thermal plants and energy imports from Argentina and Uruguay.