Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy and Petrobras informed, yesterday, that the supply of piped natural gas and bottled gas to residential consumers will not be affected by the political crisis in Bolivia.
Furthermore, a contingency plan is being prepared for other consumer segments (industries, thermoelectric plants, etc.) in order to ensure the supply, in case there is an interruption in the flow of Bolivian fuel to Brazil.
The plan provides for the use of substitute fuels as alternatives to gas. Another step is rationing, which has already begun in Petrobras’ refineries and will be extended to thermoelectric plants that use natural gas.
The electric power supply will not be compromised by rationing in thermoelectric plants, because, in addition to the fact that the reservoirs of hydroelectric plants are full, natural gas can be replaced by other fuels in thermoelectric generation.
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Dilma Roussef, and the executive board of Petrobras met yesterday in Rio de Janeiro to define strategies to deal with the possibility that gas supplies might suffer cuts in the coming days, since Bolivia is one of Brazil’s major sources of this fuel.
Agência Brasil