Water war: Alckmin must increase the flow rate.

247 - The National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) will notify Cesp (Companhia Energética de São Paulo) this Tuesday, the 12th, so that the state-owned company complies with a determination from the National Electric System Operator (ONS) regarding water storage in the reservoir of the Jaguari River hydroelectric plant (SP). The company will be required to increase the amount of water sent from the Jaguari dam to the Paraíba do Sul River.

According to the director-general of Aneel, Romeu Rufino, Cesp was holding more water in the reservoir than the ONS (National System Operator) had determined. "It operated the plant with a different outflow than instructed, producing less energy and, consequently, with a lower flow rate," he told reporters. This was the first time, according to Rufino, that a hydroelectric plant had failed to comply with an ONS regulation.

Cesp will have 15 days to explain its position. "From then on, the inspection area will analyze the agent's comments and take a position. It may or may not impose a penalty," he said, explaining that penalties range from warnings to fines.

A report in Folha de S. Paulo last Saturday indicated that Cesp, a company owned by the São Paulo state government, was releasing only one-third of the water volume determined by the ONS (National System Operator). The São Paulo state-owned company claimed to have received orders from DAEE (Department of Water and Electric Energy), linked to the administration of Governor Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB), not to alter the flow rate of the reservoir.

The water that flows from the Jaguari River, in the interior of São Paulo state, goes to the Paraíba do Sul River, which supplies Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, as well as the interior of São Paulo. According to the ONS (National System Operator), which controls the Brazilian energy system, Cesp's decision will cause a "collapse" in the water supply of cities located in the Paraíba do Sul River basin. According to official data, 15 million people receive water via the Paraíba do Sul River, with 10 million in the city of Rio de Janeiro alone.

Commenting on the episode, the governor of Rio, Luiz Fernando Pezão (PMDB), called for "dialogue" and stated that "São Paulo cannot make a unilateral decision" on the water issue. "I have great faith in dialogue. I am certain that the federal government, through the National Water Agency, will determine what needs to be done in the Paraíba do Sul River, as has always been done for over 60 years," he said.