Brazil power demand falls on cooler weather

Power consumption in Brazil fell by 7.9pc in the first half of October from a year earlier, as a result of lower temperatures in the southeast and southern regions, the Brazilian power clearing chamber CCEE said.

This decline in demand because of the cooler weather helps the country endure the last weeks of the dry season in the southeast region, as Brazil faces a drought that has reduced water levels in hydropower reservoirs.

Total power demand in this period averaged 62,478MW in the interconnected national power system, which includes all but one Brazilian state, Roraima, in the northern region.

The decrease in consumption was prompted by less demand in the regulated, or captive, power market, led by lower consumption among residential consumers, whose demand fell by 12.5pc from a year earlier.

Among consumers in the free market, made up of industrial or business consumers, with larger volumes of consumption contracted directly with generators, power consumption rose by 2.1pc in the first half of the current month. The result was also influenced by an increase of the number of consumers in the free market.

By Flávia Pierry