Govt. officials guarantee power exports

Brazil will continue to export power to Argentina and Uruguay despite a three-month drought in the country's southern region that has drastically reduced the local power production capacity, local press quoted federal government officials as saying. Mines and energy minister Dilma Rousseff and deputy minister Maurício Tolmasquim said that suspension of power exports is not being considered since the end of the dry season in the southern region is nearing, local press reported. Tolmasquim said that before cutting off supplies to Argentina and Uruguay completely, Brazil would reduce exports to 250MW from current 500MW, newspaper Gazeta Mercantil reported. Due to depleted reservoirs at hydroelectric plants in the southernmost Rio Grande do Sul state, over 60% of the local demand is being supplied from other regions through Brazil's 79,000km national transmission grid. Brazil's government and the Rio Grande do Sul state government, however, are trying to increase power output in the state by switching on more expensive thermoelectric plants. Among them is the 640MW Uruguaiana plant located close to the border with Argentina that has stopped working for lack of gas. Brazilian government authorities are in talks with Spain's Repsol YPF to guarantee gas supplies to ensure generation of at least 200MW. Recent rains since the weekend, however, have guaranteed power supply in the state. The state's largest plant, the 1,140MW Machadinho plant, can now produce some 220MW over the next two weeks because rains partly replenished reservoirs, the Rio Grande do Sul state's power department said in a statement.