The water levels at Brazilian hydroelectrical power plant reservoirs are higher than expected for this time of year and will make it unnecessary to fire up thermoelectric power plants, at least for the time being, says Hermes Chipp, the director general of ONS – Operador Nacional do Sistema Elétrico. The more expensive and polluting thermos are used, when necessary, to provide supplementary electricity when hydros reduce generation.
Chipp says reservoir levels in the Southeast and Northeast are at 86%, in the North at 93% and in the South 76%. “In the Southeast we have the highest levels in ten years for this time of year,” declared the director general.