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President Lula announces the connection of Parintins and Itacoatiara, in Amazonas, and Juruti, in Pará, to the national interconnected network, and signs a service order to include Roraima in the system

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Published on 08/08/2023 15:17

Government resumes Light for All and connects municipalities in the North to the electrical system

Tucuruí Line reaches isolated municipalities in Amazonas and Pará. Photo: PAC / Disclosure

 

The Federal Government resumed this Friday, 4/8, Luz para Todos which, in this new phase, will benefit up to 500 thousand families by 2026. The program brings electricity to the rural population, especially in the North of the country and in remote regions of the Legal Amazon. Launched by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2003, the action aims to guarantee the eradication of energy poverty and social and economic development. The relaunch was attended by Lula and Minister Alexandre Silveira (Mines and Energy) in Parintins, Amazonas.

 

“The supply of electricity is an essential service and a fundamental right of citizens, as it aims to meet their basic needs. The resumption of the program will guarantee a dignified life and citizenship for millions of Brazilian men and women”, states the minister.

 

More than 3.6 million families have been served with access to the public electricity distribution service since the launch of the program in 2003. In this new stage, the challenge is to build policies for universal access and use of electricity that are even fairer. and inclusive.

 

Jesiel Prata Fonseca, resident of Vila Amazônia, a small town in Parintins, remembers when energy was synonymous with luxury. “When I came here, there was no electricity, just a small generator that worked to fill the water reservoir. People barely had refrigerators. With the arrival of energy, commerce began to develop, people started opening small businesses, income and quality of life for everyone increased.”

 

 

 

TUCURUÍ LINE – After two decades of expectation, Parintins and Itacoatiara, in Amazonas and Juruti, in Pará, are finally connected to the National Interconnected System (SIN), which provides access to electrical energy from clean and renewable sources. Known as "Linhão de Tucuruí", the interconnection was also inaugurated this Friday.

 

Currently, the Amazon region has 211 isolated systems, which need to generate their own energy from fossil fuels. It is estimated that approximately 3 million people live in these locations and that, by replacing the thermal matrix with more sustainable options, 1.5 million tons of carbon will no longer be released into the atmosphere. Around R$5 billion in investments are planned.

 

Before the interconnection of Parintins to the Tucuruí Line, the city depended on a diesel-powered thermoelectric plant, which consumed around 45 million liters of this fuel annually. In addition to the environmental impacts, the generation of energy through this matrix caused noise pollution and released soot into the air.

 

CHALLENGES - To make the project a reality, challenges had to be overcome. To cross the stretches of river, the project involved the construction of towers over 250 meters high, including installation in flooded stretches, which required special foundations and planning for periods of high and low water in the river. Studies for interconnection began in 2006, still during President Lula's government and, after delays, its effective interconnection was tendered at the Transmission Auction in 2018 with an investment of R$1.76 billion. The lines are 480 km long - 3.8 km crossing the Amazon River and 4.5 km crossing canals in Parintins - starting from Oriximiná (PA), which also connects the municipality of Juruti (PA) .

 

ITACOATIARA - 700 kilometers from Parintins, up the Amazon River (197 km in a straight line), the municipality of Itacoatiara also began to be served by the line that connects the entire state of Amazonas to the SNI. The two cities have a population of approximately 100 thousand inhabitants and consume approximately 45 million liters of diesel per year. In Itacoatiara, the network totals 2,672 km and serves 20 thousand homes. For the connection, 349 towers were installed, along 113 km of cables.

 

RORAIMA ON THE WAY – Another service order signed by President Lula this Friday will finally connect Roraima to the National Interconnected System (SIN). R$2.6 billion will be invested in the works, which will replace thermoelectric plants and guarantee reliable, clean and renewable energy. Roraima is the only state isolated from the national system. Residents of Boa Vista and nearby cities depend on thermoelectric plants powered by diesel oil, natural gas, biomass and a small hydroelectric plant. The expectation is for more than 11 thousand direct and indirect jobs com the works, expected to be completed in September 2025.

 

PARTNERSHIPS – Another decree signed by President Lula expands the possibilities of exchanging electrical energy with countries that border Brazil. Currently, Brazil carries out international exchanges with Argentina and Uruguay, in addition to Paraguay, through the Binacional Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant.

 

“The decree will allow contracts to be signed to bring clean and renewable energy from Venezuela, from the Guri plant, which once again plays an important role in guaranteeing cheap and sustainable energy for Roraima and Brazil”, highlighted minister Alexandre Silveira.

 

The text provides for the possibility of importing energy to serve isolated systems, with the aim of reducing expenditure on the Fuel Consumption Account (CCC), budgeted at R$12 billion for 2023. It represents almost 35% of the Development Account Energy (CDE). The gradual replacement of the system leads to a reduction in CCC costs – paid by all electricity consumers, which benefits all Brazilians.

 

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Energy, Minerals and Fuels