Brazil mulls importing more energy to cope with power shortage

Brazil is considering importing more energy from neighboring countries to forestall a possible power shortage in the summer, a top official said Monday.

Luiz Eduardo Barata, the executive secretary of the Mining and Energy Ministry, warned water levels at the country's reservoirs were significantly low due to last year's lengthy dry season, and the government wanted to head off any supply outages in the summer, when energy consumption in Brazil skyrockets.

"We will start working now so that we are not surprised in the summer, as happened at the beginning of the year," he said.

Brazil has a very clean energy matrix, with most of its power originating from hydroelectric plants. But the more environmentally-friendly system has its drawbacks, being more susceptible to fluctuations in rainfall that can potential affect both water and power supply.

According to Barata, Uruguay and Argentina are in a position to sell more power to Brazil if needed.

"Uruguay increased its energy production and is interested in selling its surplus power," he said.

The government may also turn to companies that generate their own power (through solar panels, for example) and could sell any excess to supply the national grid. Endite