Itaipu performs second operation to help navigation along drought stricken Paraná river

The Itaipu plant has completed its second special operation to help with the flow of Paraguay’s grain harvest. In 13 days, the plant increased its energy production by 12%, when compared to the period prior to the beginning of the measure. The measure allowed the transport of 104 Paraguayan barges to the international market.

Given the 47cm reduction in the reservoir´s water level, the measure allowed the water level to be increased by 1.1 meters downstream (below the dam). The volume made the Paraná river navigable, in a critical period of drought –  one of the worst in all history. “At the end of the special operation, the level of the reservoir reached a level of 217.48 meters, 30 centimeters higher than expected, as the average inflow was approximately 6% higher than initially forecasted”, explains the operation superintendent, José Benedito Mota.

The special operation was carried out at the request of the Chancelleries of Brazil and Paraguay, with the participation of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Eletrobras, the National Water Agency (ANA), and the National Electric System Operator (ONS).  This is the second operation in just over two months, without opening the spillway, made by Itaipu to enable the flow of the Paraguayan harvest through the Paraná River.

The total production of Itaipu in 2020 exceeds 47.5 million megawatt-hours (MWh). The cumulative amount generated since May 1984, when the plant started to produce, is at 2.7 billion MWh.