By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s power regulator Aneel has ordered the suspension of operations at one turbine of the Porto Colômbia hydropower plant, operated by Axia Energia, formerly part of Eletrobras. The decision was published in an official ruling on Wednesday (21) and applies to generating unit 04, with installed capacity of 80 megawatts.
The turbine has been offline since March 2024 as part of a modernization process triggered by three serious incidents recorded at the generator between December 2022 and November 2023. Technical assessments show that Axia Energia postponed the expected return to service three times and now forecasts resumption on Saturday (24) in May.
Under Brazil’s electricity rules, outages linked to modernization projects may be exempt from penalties for up to 12 months. In this case, however, the allowed period has been exceeded, prompting Aneel to suspend the unit’s commercial operation status.
The regulator said the measure is not punitive. Once repairs are completed and the unit’s availability is restored, commercial operations may resume upon request by the company.
Porto Colômbia has total installed capacity of 320 megawatts and is located between the cities of Planura, in Minas Gerais state, and Guaíra, in São Paulo state. The plant has been in operation since June 1973 and generates power from the Rio Grande.