Brazil has resumed electricity imports from Venezuela after six years to supply its northern Roraima state, in a measure aimed at reducing costs and diversifying the energy supply for consumers.

The operation, which received final approval on Tuesday from Brazilian energy regulator Aneel, aims to guarantee another source of energy supply for Roraima, Brazil’s only state that does not receive energy from the national grid.

Since imports from Venezuela stopped in 2019, Roraima’s consumers have relied exclusively on local thermoelectric generation, with fuel subsidized by a fund added to electricity bills.

The Brazilian government authorized trading firm Bolt Energy to import Venezuelan energy at a price of 1,096.11 reais ($192.49) per megawatt-hour, valid from January to April this year.

The trading company is expected to receive a reimbursement of 41.2 million reais for these operations, using resources from the state fund.

The imports resumed last Saturday, with a limit of 15 megawatts, according to data from the National Electric System Operator.

The following day operations were briefly interrupted after a shutdown on a transmission line connecting Brazil to Venezuela, but the issue was already solved, and the import of energy from Venezuela resumed.
Source: Reuters