VP Hugo Velázquez says Paraguay could use 100% of Itaipu energy should country receive less for export to Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Vice President of Paraguay and now pre-candidate for the next general elections, Hugo Velázquez, during an interview in the program ‘Políticamente Yncorrecto’ of Telefuturo, said that negotiations continue regarding the final cost of the tariff for the re-export of electric energy to Brazil, indicating that the government proposed that the price be maintained until 2023, but that, if the neighboring country does not accept, Paraguay will be able to use all the energy that corresponds to it, or in any case, sell it.

However, he pointed out that the existing agreement most likely cannot be fully maintained. “Officially, Paraguay has already stated that the energy price will be maintained until 2023. This is the official position of the Government, and we will defend it. We may not get everything, but we will get part of it,” the politician said.

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Likewise, he was consulted about his position regarding the issue. While evading the question, he affirmed that if the cost is reduced, the government is preparing to use 100% of the energy that corresponds to the country, which can be sold if not used in its entirety.

ITAIPU DAM

The Itaipu Dam, the second-largest hydroelectric dam globally, is located on the Paraná River on the border between Brazil and Paraguay.

Completed in 1984, it is a binational undertaking run by Brazil and Paraguay. The reservoir ranges from Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil, and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, in the south to Guaíra and Salto del Guairá in the north. The installed generation capacity of the plant is 14 GW.

Of the twenty generator units currently installed, ten generate at 50 Hz for Paraguay, and ten generate at 60 Hz for Brazil.

Since the output capacity of the Paraguayan generators far exceeds the load in Paraguay, most of their production is exported directly to the Brazilian side, from where two 600 kV HVDC lines, each approximately 800 kilometers (500 mi) long, carry the majority of the energy to the São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro region where the terminal equipment converts the power to 60 Hz.

The concept behind the Itaipu Power Plant resulted from tough negotiations between the two countries during the 1960s. The “Ata do Iguaçu” (Iguaçu Act) was signed on July 22, 1966, by the Brazilian and Paraguayan Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Juracy Magalhães and Raúl Sapena Pastor, respectively.

This was a joint declaration of the mutual interest in studying the exploitation of the hydro resources that the two countries shared in the section of the Paraná River starting from, and including, the Salto de Sete Quedas, to the Iguaçu River watershed. The treaty that gave origin to the power plant was signed in 1973.

The terms of the treaty, which expire in 2023, have been the subject of widespread discontent in Paraguay. The government of former President Lugo vowed to renegotiate the treaty’s terms with Brazil, which long remained hostile to any renegotiation.

In 2009, Brazil agreed to a fairer electricity payment to Paraguay and allowed Paraguay to sell excess power directly to Brazilian companies instead of solely through the Brazilian electricity monopoly.

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