Brazil plunged into darkness
On Teusday, Brazil plunged into darkness without power for more than five hours. Blackout was caused due to a complete shut down at the Itaipu dam. The blackout left around ten million people in darkness in Central and Southern region of the country.
A BLACKOUT on Tuesday (November 10), affecting most of Brazil has raised questions about the reliability and functioning of energy infrastructure in Brazil. The blackout left around ten million people in darkness in the Central and Southern region of the country including major cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Labelled the worst outage in a decade, it left a major part of the country without power for more than five hours.
An emergency meeting was called by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with Energy Minister Edison Lobao to discuss the causes behind the lack of power which disrupted traffic and subway movement across the country.
The Energy Minister Edison Lobao announced in a radio interview that the blackout was caused due to a complete shut down at the Itaipu dam. He added that restoration of power would be complete within 24 hours.
According to an unnamed official at Brazil’s National Electric System Operator, the accident caused an outage of 18,000 megawatts. They said the blackout was most likely caused by the downing of three transmission lines carrying power from Itaipu dam due to a storm. The gigantic dam located at the Paraná River on the Brazil Paraguay border is the second largest in the world when it comes to electricity generating capacity. In 1994, it had been elected by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
"The very long transmission lines in Brazil are very badly maintained," said Adriano Pires, director of the Brazilian Center for Infrastructure Studies in Rio de Janeiro. An energy ministry official said that the outage could not be controlled because the system was not equipped to cope with more than two downed lines.
In Rio, a spike was noted in robberies around the Maracana Football Stadium which will host the 2014 World Cup final as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics two years later. Apart from affecting 18 out of Brazil’s 26 states, the outage also caused a 15 minute blackout in Paraguay. The entire country was plunged in darkness as it heavily relies on the Itaipu dam for 90 per cent of its power needs.
The blackout has been declared the worst in a decade to hit Brazil. The last major blackout was in 1999, when a transmission line in Sao Paulo was struck by lightning. Earlier this month, United States television network CBS reported in its popular show ‘60 Minutes’ that blackouts caused in Brazil in 2005 and 2007, may have been the result of nefarious web hackers. The Brazilian government has denied the ‘cyber attack’ theory collected on the basis of US intelligence sources preferring to remain unnamed.
Brazil will be hosting the 2014 World Cup as well as the 2016 Olympics. With the blackout, questions are being raised with regards to Brazil’s energy infrastructure. The largest South American country has spent around 47 billion dollar in upping Brazil’s energy generation and transmission capacity after the 1999 blackout. Brazilian President told media persons on Wednesday (November 11) that underinvestment was not the cause for the huge blackout and it was not undergoing an energy crisis.
The Energy Minister Edison Lobao announced in a radio interview that the blackout was caused due to a complete shut down at the Itaipu dam. He added that restoration of power would be complete within 24 hours.
According to an unnamed official at Brazil’s National Electric System Operator, the accident caused an outage of 18,000 megawatts. They said the blackout was most likely caused by the downing of three transmission lines carrying power from Itaipu dam due to a storm. The gigantic dam located at the Paraná River on the Brazil Paraguay border is the second largest in the world when it comes to electricity generating capacity. In 1994, it had been elected by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
"The very long transmission lines in Brazil are very badly maintained," said Adriano Pires, director of the Brazilian Center for Infrastructure Studies in Rio de Janeiro. An energy ministry official said that the outage could not be controlled because the system was not equipped to cope with more than two downed lines.
In Rio, a spike was noted in robberies around the Maracana Football Stadium which will host the 2014 World Cup final as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics two years later. Apart from affecting 18 out of Brazil’s 26 states, the outage also caused a 15 minute blackout in Paraguay. The entire country was plunged in darkness as it heavily relies on the Itaipu dam for 90 per cent of its power needs.
The blackout has been declared the worst in a decade to hit Brazil. The last major blackout was in 1999, when a transmission line in Sao Paulo was struck by lightning. Earlier this month, United States television network CBS reported in its popular show ‘60 Minutes’ that blackouts caused in Brazil in 2005 and 2007, may have been the result of nefarious web hackers. The Brazilian government has denied the ‘cyber attack’ theory collected on the basis of US intelligence sources preferring to remain unnamed.
Brazil will be hosting the 2014 World Cup as well as the 2016 Olympics. With the blackout, questions are being raised with regards to Brazil’s energy infrastructure. The largest South American country has spent around 47 billion dollar in upping Brazil’s energy generation and transmission capacity after the 1999 blackout. Brazilian President told media persons on Wednesday (November 11) that underinvestment was not the cause for the huge blackout and it was not undergoing an energy crisis.
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