Brazil sees record power demand amid nationwide heatwave

SAO PAULO - Brazil is seeing skyrocketing demand for electricity amid a nationwide extreme heatwave, the National Electric System Operator said on Tuesday, with power demand in the national grid reaching 101.5 gigawatts, 0.5 percent higher than the previous record.

The biggest economy in Latin America on Monday issued a new "high danger" alert due to temperatures that are at least 5 degrees Celsius higher than the historical average for this time of year, with a thermal sensation of 58 degrees Celsius registered in parts of Rio de Janeiro in southeast Brazil.

Folha de Sao Paulo, a local newspaper, said that the sweltering weather is affecting 116 million people in 2,707 cities, citing data from the Meteorological Institute (Inmet). Temperatures went above 40 degrees in more than 43 cities.

There has been a 16.8 percent increase in energy demand since the beginning of November due to the El Nino phenomenon, which left the waters of the Atlantic Ocean warmer and reduced humidity in a large part of the country, including in Sao Paulo, according to Inmet.

Brazil's main energy demand was met by hydroelectric power plants (59.8 percent), thermal power plants (11.5 percent), wind power (9.5 percent), centralized solar power on farmland (8.4 percent) and residential solar power (11.2 percent).