Brazil’s Blackout – Rio, Sao Paulo and others in the dark, problem not close to being solved

MINAS GERAIS, Brazil – For those seeing the news about Brazil’s blackout, here’s what I can report: Itaipu Dam, which creates power for much of Brazil’s south, has 18 generators down, with just two working – and those two send energy to Paraguay.

In a telephone interview with a spokesman for Itaipu, Globo-TV anchors asked tough questions, for which the spokesman had few answers, saying that the wind may have caused the problems. The worst part – the spokesman said it could be “2-3 days” before power is restored. Though, the fact remains that the spokesman was exceedingly vague under the tough and intelligent questioning.

I’m located in the state of Minas Gerais, which is in the southeast of Brazil, and we still have power, including the capital city of Belo Horizonte.

There have been no reports of any outbreaks of violence or crime at this juncture.

Update: Itaipu gives power to a full 20% of Brazil. The person that runs Itaipu Dam – a state-run facility – was appointed to the Job by Brazilian President Lula. The blackout is also affecting the Nation’s capital of Brasilia, as well as other states.

Update II: Heavy storms were reported in the Paraná River giving credence to the Itaipu’s claims that the outage was “weather related.”

The Itaipu Dam works under an agreement with Paraguay and Brazil, with Brazil receiving the bulk of the power. Initially, the power for the Paraguay side also went off, but was quickly returned.

Update III: According to AFB, Power has been restored after four hours.

–WKW

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