Paraguay Wants at Least US$ 2 Billion from Brazil for Itaipu Energy

Turbines of Brazil's Itaipu hydroelectric Brazil is expected to pay its South American neighbor, Paraguay, a bigger share of the energy it gets from the Itaipu dam on the Paraná River at the border of Brazil and Paraguay. The bill should increase to at least US$ 2 billion, said an energy expert and advisor to Paraguayan president elect Fernando Lugo.

"We would like to reach an agreement as soon as possible and we expect to collect at least US$ 2 billion" from electricity generated by South America's largest hydroelectric plant, Itaipu, jointly built with Brazil, said Ricardo Canese.

Paraguay is the region's only country with energy surplus and has been pushing for a review of agreements with its bigger neighbors.

Although there are conflicting views about how much Brazil currently pays Paraguay for energy generated in Itaipu, the sum is well beyond US$ 500 million.

Under contract clauses only Brazil and Paraguay are entitled to the Itaipu energy and any surplus can only be sold with Brazilian approval. Brazil argues that they paid for the bi-national dam and assumed all the risks and credits for the building of the gigantic plant. Virtually all the electricity generated is absorbed by energy hungry Brazil.

Paraguay has a similar agreement with Argentina although at a smaller scale in the Yaciretá dam, which was also built and financed by the larger country. Argentina takes most of the electricity generated in Yaciretá which is in the process of being expanded.

"The energy issue is unavoidable in any discussion nowadays, not only in Mercosur, in the Americas or in the planet. It can't be absent. We also want energy integration," president elect Lugo was quoted in the recent Brasilia summit for the creation of the Union of South American nations, Unasur.

Lugo revealed that Paraguay is currently holding talks with Brazil and Argentina to achieve "a fair price for our energy" from the Itaipu and Yaciretá dams. "However we agreed with President Lula to hold talks on the issue after I'm in office" next August, said Lugo.

The Paraguayan elect-president recently visited Mercosur members and announced his administration would be interested in increasing ties with the smaller countries of the region including selling them surplus energy.

"I think small countries in the region have much in common and also common possibilities if we continue to join forces and efforts," said Lugo who added he favored surfacing a regional development agreement of the seventies, which included Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay, "and possibly Chile."

Mercopress

Tags:

You May Also Like

Having Learned from US Mistakes China Goes Soft to Win Brazil and LatAm’s Hearts

On November 5, 2008, the Chinese government released a policy paper on Latin America ...

Brazil Starts 8,000-Men War Games on Border as Message to Neighbors

With the "main target" being the recovery of a bi-national hydroelectric dam that has ...

Will the US Ever Comply with the WTO? Brazil Wants to Know.

The United States has still not complied with a World Trade Organization ruling that ...

Kaftans, Abayas and Hijabs Are a Hit in Brazil Too

International clothing brands and retail chains are making room in their stores for the ...

Pressured by the US, Mexico Imposes Visas on Brazilians

Beginning on October 23, all Brazilians travelling to Mexico will have to have a ...

Despite Claims to the Contrary Gays Are Not Endangered in Brazil

The other day a Brazilian friend asked me if I had noticed that, within ...

Monsanto Has Brazil in Their Hands

The Brazilian population was surprised last April with the speed that Congress voted to ...

Alas, in Brazil, the Greener Times Seem to Be in the Past

Contradiction festers in Rio de Janeiro as international fervor surrounding June’s lackluster Rio +20 ...

Brazil’s GDP Grows to US$ 609 Billion Up to September

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Brazil totaled US$ 609 billion in the period ...

International Experts in Brazil Debate Autism and Alzheimer’s

Brazilian and foreign specialists are gathered at the Convention Center of the Federal University ...