A Sliver of a Dialogue on Brazil's Energy Policy - Part One

Yesterday, I had the opportunity of participating in a public hearing on Brazil's 10-Year Energy Plan, an initiative of the Federal Attorney's office in Brasília. Federal public interest attorneys have been active in challenging the electric sector for violations of environmental regulations and human rights, and they demanded that the 2017 Plan be subjected to public consultation.

The country's energy planning director, Maurício Tolmasquim, and the Mines and Energy Ministry's planning secretary, Altino Ventura presented the official 2017 plan, which would mean construction of 71 new dams, including Belo Monte on the Xingu River, São Luís on the Tapajós, two dams on the Madeira (already in construction), and more on the Tocantins, Araguaia, Teles Pires, Juruena and other rivers in the Amazon.

Representatives of the Attorneys' office set the tone. Sandra Cureau, coordinator of the infrastructure work group said "21% of the new dam projects would impact indigenous areas. At the same time, the plan foresees only a very timid increase in alternative energy sources, such as wind and biomass". Deborah Duprat, of the work group on minorities and indigenous people stressed the importance of applying the standard of ILO Convention 169 on prior consultation with indigenous populations.

Ventura of the Mines and Energy Ministry said "You have to understand – this is a plan for physical expansion of energy generation – it is not a strategic plan for the sector". I held my breath as he said "Look, we know that hydroelectricity is the cleanest and cheapest form of energy Brazil has. We're going to use 180 Gigawatts of hydroelectric capacity, and then re-evaluate the feasibility of the additional 80 Gigawatts of potential we have, which would involve building dams on indigenous lands or protected areas to see how we will be able to use it. Brazilians need the hydroelectric energy from the Amazon".

Maurício Tolmasquim of the Energy Planning Company, a government agency said "Any country in the world would be envious of our hydroelectric potential". As a selling point for the Brazilian public, he said "Today, Brazilians use as much energy per capita as Jamaicans. In ten years, we would be consuming as much energy per capita as Chileans do today" That is, equating increased energy consumption with development or quality of life.

Tomorrow – critics of Brazil's energy policy sound off.