Capt Worley PE
Run silent, run deep
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil is fighting against time to avoid crippling power blackouts and electricity rationing as a drought prevents the world's most water-rich nation from recharging its hydroelectric dams.
A decade of growth has diversified the electricity system away from hydropower, but policymakers, industrial companies and investors in the world's seventh-largest economy may find little cause to relax.
Rio de Janeiro-based energy consultancy PSR puts the odds of rationing at nearly 1 in 4.
"Rationing or not, the drought's impact on Brazil will be large," said PSR Director Jose Rosenblatt. "There's no way to avoid it."
Hydro reservoirs, which generate two-thirds of Brazil's power, are at near-record lows. To keep the lights on and factories open, all of the country's main thermal power plants are running full throttle as an estimated 600,000 visitors prepare to arrive for the June start of the soccer World Cup.
Interesting article here: http://news.yahoo.com/brazil-scrambles-avoid-power-rationing-costs-soar-001726144--finance.html;_ylt=AwrSyCUW5jBTIQ4AOQvQtDMD
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