The minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, asked this Monday (28) that the population save energy and water to face the water crisis.
He made a statement on national TV. The objective was to try to dispel rumors that there may be power outages or rationing this year due to the worsening water crisis that has left hydroelectric reservoirs at their lowest levels in 91 years.
He listed measures, such as the possibility of contracting mills that don’t already have contracts, but did not clearly say whether the risk of blackouts or rationing has been completely ruled out.
Also on Monday, the ministry issued a provisional measure that empowers a committee responsible for managing the energy crisis, including managing the flow of reservoirs and holding auctions for contracting emergency energy.
Albuquerque also said that he is preparing, with industry representatives, a program to encourage companies to change their consumption hours to periods of lower energy demand.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon