Released March 13, 2019 | CORDOBA, ARGENTINA
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The blackout affecting Venezuela since March 7 continues, and there is no certainty about when the electricity supply will be normalized. The massive blackout started when an explosion in a substation damaged one or more of the 20 hydro turbines of Simon Bolivar (Guri) Hydropower Plant, although the public utility Corporacion Electrica Nacional SA (Corpoelec) is retaining details about the severity of the damage and when it is going to be repaired. With a capacity of 10 gigawatts (GW), the power station generates 70% of Venezuela's electricity supply. The country also has more than 12 GW of thermal generation, but due to several years of poor maintenance, only an estimated 2.5 GW are available.
The situation also is affecting the Brazilian state of Roraima, which depends heavily on the import of electricity from Venezuela, since is isolated from the Brazilian National Interconnected System. The region has its own generation park, based mainly in thermal plants, with generation costs eight times higher than the electricity imported through the Guri transmission line. By the end of the year, the state is expected to start the construction of the 700-kilometer Tucurui high-voltage transmission project, which will connect Roraima with Manaus, and hence the national grid.
The situation also is affecting the Brazilian state of Roraima, which depends heavily on the import of electricity from Venezuela, since is isolated from the Brazilian National Interconnected System. The region has its own generation park, based mainly in thermal plants, with generation costs eight times higher than the electricity imported through the Guri transmission line. By the end of the year, the state is expected to start the construction of the 700-kilometer Tucurui high-voltage transmission project, which will connect Roraima with Manaus, and hence the national grid.
