Rio de Janeiro – The Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy has issued a release confirming that the blackout in the National Interconnected System (SIN) affected 18 states in the country, and began precisely at 10:13 pm yesterday (10th).
According to the release, the problem had its origin in the energy coming from the Itaipu hydroelectric plant. "The failure occurred in the system linking the city of Ivaiporã, in the centre of the state of Paraná, to Itaberá, in the south of São Paulo, and in a substation that connects the Itaberá Substation to the Tijuco Preto Substation, in São Paulo," according to the release.
The power supply was fully re-established one hour after the blackout began. The exceptions were the states of Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in which energy was only re-established after midnight.
According to the release, so far, there are no conclusive data regarding equipment damage. The release informs, however, that "there were adverse weather conditions, with strong winds and rains, in the region that houses the power transmission circuits of the Itaipu plant and distributes the power to other regions."
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
