Latinamerica’s largest power company Eletrobras, managed by the Brazilian government reported losses equivalent to 3.4bn dollars last year which were mostly attributed to a bill promoted by the administration of President Dilma Rousseff ro reduce electricity bills both for industry, agriculture and home consumption.
Brazil reminded Paraguay it can use the power it needs from the giant Itaipu hydro but there is a contract which regulates how to manage the surplus. A day earlier president Federico Franco said that Paraguay would not “yield” any more electricity to Brazil.
A failure affecting four transmission lines left four Brazilian regions (thirteen states) partially without electricity on Friday, highlighting the growing strain on the nation's power infrastructure.
Standard & Poor's ratings services upgraded Mercosur member Paraguay's credit status a notch after the country reached an agreement with neighboring Brazil to take more revenue from the shared Itaipú hydroelectric complex, the world’s largest operational dam.
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff cancelled on medical advice Sunday’s trip to Asunción where she was scheduled to participate in the bicentennial celebrations of Paraguay’s independence.
The Brazilian government is intent in increasing to 360 million US dollars annual payment for the surplus power from the world’s largest operational hydroelectric dam Itaipu, shared with Paraguay promised Marco Aurerlio Garcia President Dilma Rousseff international affairs advisor and special envoy.
President Dilma Rousseff will not be visiting Paraguay until the Brazilian Congress approves the Itaipú reversal notes which establish a greater compensation for surplus power purchased from Paraguay by Latin America’s energy hungry largest economy.
The program of events to celebrate the 20 years of the Treaty of Asunción, the founding block of Mercosur (26 March 1991) will have to be rescheduled because Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff won’t be travelling to Paraguay next 26 March.
Paraguayan officials downplayed statements by Brazil’s main opposition presidential candidate Jose Serra who said that Brazil is doing “philanthropy with Paraguay and Bolivia”.
Paraguayan opposition and media strongly criticized Brazilian president Lula da Silva’s for not keeping his Itaipú dam-controversy promises and allegedly for conditioning further assistance to the approval by the Paraguayan congress of Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur.