Brazil’s energy authorities approve the return to summer time, in the context of the drought
Brazil’s energy authorities have approved a return to daylight saving time, a top official said Thursday, to save energy as the country grapples with a major drought that has hit power production.
Brazil’s energy authorities approve the return to summer time, in the context of the drought
Before going into effect, the restoration of daylight saving time will have to be promulgated by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
A prolonged drought in Brazil has affected some of the country’s largest hydroelectric plants, including two fed by an Amazon river, forcing a shift to more energy imports and driving up energy bills, according to Reuters.
Despite the rise of wind and solar power in Latin America’s largest economy, more than half of electricity still comes from harnessing the power of rivers and lakes.
Reservoir levels near the main hydroelectric plants in key areas of the south-east and mid-west are expected to be below 50% at the end of September as rainfall in the region falls to less than half of normal levels.
By moving the clocks forward one hour between November and February, daylight savings time would allow more hours of daylight to be used and reduce pressure on peak power consumption in the late afternoon, when solar plants stop producing power as the sun sets.
Former president Jair Bolsonaro abolished daylight saving time in 2019, arguing that it no longer benefited the energy sector.
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, told reporters on Thursday that the national grid operator ONS had recommended a return to daylight saving time and that a committee representing energy entities had approved the potential measure.
But the minister also expressed some misgivings, saying he wanted to assess alternatives, even as earlier this week he appeared to signal his support for a return to summer time, describing it as “a very pressing reality”. .
Some sectors welcomed the possible return to the previous policy. Bars and restaurants support the move, as the local association Abrasel estimates that an extra hour of natural light would help increase the number of customers between 6pm and 8pm and increase monthly revenues by at least 10%.
However, moving the clocks forward by an hour would complicate airline flight schedules and generate additional costs for relocating crews.
Source: www.mediafax.ro
