Critical drought situation affects the Xingu basin in MT and PA and could make bills more expensive

The National Water Agency (ANA) declared this Monday (30) a critical situation due to water scarcity in the Xingu river basin, which runs through the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. This is the fifth declaration of scarcity made by the agency in 2024 and directly affects the region where the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant is located, responsible for 11% of the energy generated in the National Interconnected System (SIN).

With this new declaration, practically the entire right basin of the Amazon River is in critical condition. In addition to the Xingu, shortages have already been declared in the Madeira, Purus, Tapajós and Paraguai river basins, the latter affecting the Pantanal region.

The worsening of the drought also led the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) to increase the red tariff flag on electricity bills to level 2 this October, which implies an extra charge of R$7.87 for every 100 kilowatts -hour (kWh) consumed, due to the forecast of low precipitation and the increase in the price of electricity.

ANA’s statement aims to intensify monitoring of the levels of the Xingu River, propose measures to mitigate water use with state and municipal bodies, and avoid interruptions in the water supply.

The agency’s director, Ana Carolina Argolo, rapporteur of the measure, classified the situation as urgent. “The data presented indicates a situation of imminent risk, therefore the regulatory initiative in question can be classified as an urgent situation”, he stated.

The measure also allows sanitation companies to apply contingency tariffs to cover additional costs caused by water shortages and facilitates the transfer of resources from the federal government to support affected municipalities. The validity of the declaration extends until November 30 and includes the Iriri River, one of the tributaries of the Xingu.

According to ANA, the drought situation in the north of Mato Grosso and Pará has worsened, with rainfall being 22% below the historical average of the last 12 months. Some parts of the Xingu River are experiencing a drought that, according to records between 1980 and 2022, should only occur once every 100 years.

“This indicates that the situation we are experiencing right now is an extraordinary situation,” said Patrick Thomas, assistant superintendent of Water Resources Use Regulation at ANA.

ANA reported that the natural flows of the Belo Monte complex in 2024 are considerably lower than those recorded in 2023, with values ​​very close to historical minimums. This reduction has led hydroelectric plants such as Belo Monte, Santo Antônio and Jirau, all in the North region, to operate at less than 10% of capacity.