27-03-00 Brazil's Sao Paulo state plans to boost the inclusion of natural gas in the state's energy network from the current 2 % to 10 % within the next 8 years, Sao Paulo Energy Secretary Mauro Arce told. Arce said much of this increase will come from the construction of 17 new gas-burning thermoelectric plants, which should be completed by 2003.
Arce noted that energy consumption in Sao Paulo was 6.8 % higher in the first 2 months of 2000 compared with the Jan-Feb period in 1999. This, he said, was partially explained by 2 factors: the devaluation of the Brazilian real, which led many companies to slam the breaks on production, and; Carnival fell in February last year, bringing the country to a standstill for almost a week.
However, he said that even without these factors the increase in consumption likely would have reached 4 %. A turn-around in industrial consumption has added to gains in energy usage this year. Sao Paulo will construct 17 thermoelectric plants of a total 47 that the federal government has commissioned as part of a priority scheme to boost Brazilian energy production.

Although construction has not yet begun on any of these plants, Arce estimated that it would take around 2 years to complete each plant, meaning most projects should be completed before the end of Governor Mario Covas's term in 2002. The state's decision to increase the use of natural gas in energy production is in harmony with a nation-wide directive aimed at avoiding energy shortages. Brazil relies heavily on hydroelectric power for its energy production, and is therefore at the mercy of the weather to ensure reservoirs remain topped up.
The federal government expects energy consumption to grow by around 4 % in 2000, although analysts put demand growth at closer to 7 %. Analysts believe it is only a matter of time before Brazil begins to experience blackouts or brownouts.