Chinese power company plans to bring forward delivery of second transmission line for Belo Monte.

247, with Reuters, by Luciano Costa - Chinese power company State Grid plans to bring forward by months the completion of a second power transmission line that will carry the production from the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in Pará.

Originally scheduled for delivery in December 2019, the project, budgeted at around 9 billion reais, is expected to be ready by the middle of the third quarter of next year, an executive responsible for the undertaking told Reuters.

"The dates are not yet fully set, as we are still working on this anticipation... the original deadline is December 2nd and our challenge is to bring it forward to the middle of the third quarter," explained the vice president of Xingu-Rio (XRTE), a subsidiary of State Grid that is carrying out the works, Paulo Esmeraldo.

He said the project has already consumed almost 50 percent of the budget and currently employs around 10,2 workers on the construction sites.

"The construction work is in full swing... we are getting as far ahead as possible in order to overcome the rainy season, which is between December, January and February, when the pace of work slows down considerably," Esmeraldo pointed out.

By completing the transmission line ahead of schedule, State Grid will also accelerate cash generation from the project, which will start generating revenue as soon as it begins operating.

But the early delivery sought by the Chinese also aims to fulfill a request from the Brazilian government, after power transmission lines considered important for channeling the energy generated by Belo Monte to the electrical system were not delivered by the Spanish power companies Abengoa and Isolux, which abandoned the projects due to financial difficulties.

The lack of these transmission facilities has already led Norte Energia, which brings together the partners of Belo Monte, to complain to the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), arguing that the plant's production has been negatively impacted by the lack of outflow infrastructure.

"It was based on this request (from the government) that we committed ourselves to this anticipation. Of course, linked to this is the revenue. It's a pleasant consequence, let's say. But the anticipation is very good for the electrical system," said Esmeraldo.

The project under construction by State Grid will be the world's largest ultra-high voltage electricity transmission line when completed, spanning 2,5 kilometers to carry power generated at Belo Monte, in Pará, to the Southeast of the country, where most of the country's energy consumption is concentrated.

In addition to this transmission line, State Grid has already delivered a first transmission line to carry the energy generated by Belo Monte, a project in partnership with the state-owned company Eletrobras that began operating at the end of last year, also ahead of schedule.

When Belo Monte is completed, which is scheduled for 2019, the dam on the Xingu River will be one of the largest in the world, with 11,2 gigawatts.

In Brazil, it will be second only to the binational Itaipu hydroelectric plant, a partnership with Paraguay, which has a capacity of 14 gigawatts.

By mid-June, the hydroelectric plant had received authorization to begin commercial operation of 15 turbines, out of a total of 24.