Blackout affects at least 19 states in all regions; ONS points out national failure

A blackout lasting a few minutes hit at least 19 states in all regions of the country this Tuesday morning (15). According to reports, the power stopped being transmitted around 8:20 am in the Federal District, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia, Ceará, Piauí, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do North, Alagoas, Tocantins, Acre, Amapá, Amazonas and Rondônia.

The National Electric System Operator (ONS) reported that there was an occurrence in the operation network of the National Interconnected System (SIN) that interrupted 16,000 MW of load in the North, Northeast and Southeast states.

The interruption was due to a failure classified as “opening of the North-Southeast interconnection”, and which is investigating the causes of the incident. The interconnection of the electrical system led to power outages in other regions of the country.

The failure was confirmed by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), with the interruption at 8:31 am of the “North/Southeast connection, and the causes of the occurrence are still being investigated”. Although the power outage has been reported in all states, the folder states that the supply was affected only in the states of the North, Northeast and Southeast.

“The MME team is working so that the load is fully restored as soon as possible. Minister Alexandre Silveira has already determined the creation of a situation room and is monitoring the recovery process, as well as determining the investigation of the causes of the incident”, completed the MME.

Public data from the ONS indicate that power generation began to be reduced around 8:26 am, when it reached a peak of 73.6 thousand MW and went to 73.4 thousand shortly afterwards.

In 10 minutes, there was a sudden drop in power generation between 8:30 am and 8:40 am, from 73.6 thousand MW to 54.3 thousand MW, which began to be slowly resumed soon after. At 9:30 am, generation had already gained 6,000 MW.

The National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) has yet to comment.

Neoenergia Coelba, from Bahia, informed in a note that there was a “situation outside the distribution system of the distributor and possibly affected all states in the Northeast”. Equatorial Distribuição, from Piauí, informed that the reason is still being investigated, but that there is a record of suspension of supply in cities across the country.

More Informations soon.