Distribution kinks trigger Brazil World Cup blackout fears

Brazil faces the threat of energy shortages during next year's FIFA World Cup unless urgent improvements are made to ageing distribution infrastructure and shoddy services, an expert has told BNamericas.

Jonathan Kendall, a managing partner of Rio Energy Consulting in Rio de Janeiro, has called for a joint effort from the government and private stakeholders to avert an impending power crisis.

"There is still much to do in the distribution domain," Kendall said.

"Investment must be provided quickly, there is not much time to waste until we have these mega events and Brazil is not ready yet. The continuous growth of consumption during peak times leads to the risk of interruptions in the distribution network."

The World Cup will be held in 12 Brazilian cities from June 12 to July 13 next year.

Fears of a supply shortfall have been heightened by a series of blackouts to affect the country this year.

Among them was an August outage that left eight states in Brazil's northeast without power for up to three hours.

The government has set up a working committee to monitor World Cup supply, but Kendall says more action is needed.

"The energy market needs to reinvent itself like the telecom industry has done over the past few years," Kendall said.

"New services must be offered to customers in order to improve perceived value. Smart grid is the best solution and offers value to the different stakeholders: distributors, regulators, customers and governments.

"Everybody needs to work together to make the changes feasible."

The full interview with Kendall can be seen in this week's Electric Power Perspectives, for subscribers.