Government sees Venezuela as an alternative to the water crisis – 10/27/2023 – Panel

The energy that Brazil would import from Venezuela to supply Roraima could, in addition to providing monthly savings of R$10 million to the public coffers, meet the country’s needs in the event of a water crisis, say interlocutors from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

The import of energy to Roraima was discussed this Monday (23) by minister Alexandre Silveira (Mines and Energy) during his visit to Venezuela.

The idea is to use the Tucuruí Line, between Manaus (AM) and Boa Vista (RR), to bring energy to the rest of Brazil if necessary. The works for the transmission line were announced in August by the Lula (PT) government, with completion scheduled for September 2025.

The line will connect Roraima to the National Interconnected System — the state is the only one that is not connected to the SIN. Until 2019, Roraima received energy from Venezuela, but under the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) the supply was interrupted. The state then started using more expensive thermal generation — it started paying R$1,700 per MWh, instead of around R$270 per MWh.

According to the technicians, when the works are completed it will be possible to take the energy imported from the Guri hydroelectric plant, in Venezuela, to other parts of the country if necessary or sell surplus energy produced in Brazil to the neighboring country. The idea is to increase energy security and independence from fossil fuels, in addition to expanding integration in the southern cone.

In Venezuela, Silveira also met with the country’s authorities to discuss partnerships in the energy and mineral sector, as well as business opportunities. The minister met with his colleagues from oil and gas, energy and the vice president, Delcy Rodríguez.

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