Brazil resumed importing energy from Venezuela after six years of suspension

Published at: 18/02/2025 08:27 PM

The Brazilian National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) authorized Bolt Energy this Tuesday, February 18, to import energy from Venezuela to supply the Amazonian state of Roraima, the only one in the country disconnected from the national electrical interconnection system.

Bolt Energy, which requested the respective authorization, alleged that electricity supply from Venezuela is guaranteed after solving the technical problems that forced Brazil to suspend imports from the neighboring country in 2019, the SWI website reported.

He points out that a large part of Roraima's energy demand was met between 2001 and 2019 with energy generated by the Venezuelan hydroelectric plant of Guri through an international interconnection line of 230 kilowatts and 195 kilometers long between Santa Elena de Uairén and Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima.

Since March 07, 2019, when the import was suspended, Roraima has been supplied with electricity with diesel power plants, whose energy is more expensive and polluting.

The resumption of importation had already been approved by the instructor of the process at ANEEL, Ludimila Lima da Silva, and was approved this Tuesday, 18, by the other members of the regulatory body.

Initially, ANEEL approved the import of up to 15 megawatts (MW) on the existing line, at an estimated cost of 1,096 reais (about 193 dollars or 184.3 euros) per megawatt/hour, between January and April of this year.

The purpose of the authorization, according to ANEEL, is to reduce costs and diversify the state's electricity supply, so as not to rely exclusively on thermal energy.

According to the National Electric System Operator, imports resumed last Saturday on a trial basis, but they had to be suspended the next day due to an interconnection problem that caused a blackout in Roraima.

The same body reported that the tests resumed without problems this week.