Jirau is currently operating at 20% of its turbines, while Santo Antônio also had to shut down part of its machinery and is operating at 14% of its capacity.
The information was confirmed by the National Electric System Operator (ONS), which sees a "point of concern" but does not mention the possibility of a power outage.
This Monday (9), the Madeira River broke another record: at 12:15 p.m. (local time) it reached 81 centimeters: the lowest level since the river began to be monitored in Porto Velho, in 1967.
The Jirau hydroelectric plant has the capacity to generate 3,750 Megawatts, which represents 3.7% of all hydroelectric energy in the country.
Currently, only 10 of the 50 turbines are in operation.
The situation is similar in Santo Antônio, another large hydroelectric plant installed on the Madeira River.
The hydroelectric plant has 50 machines and only 7 are in operation.
According to Eletrobras, the controlling company of the Santo Antônio Hydroelectric Plant, the maneuver allows generation to be concentrated in one group.
Also according to Eletrobras, there is no forecast of a total shutdown of energy generation.
Both hydroelectric plants are designed to operate according to the flow of the Madeira River.
For this reason, it is expected that during dry periods, the number of generating units in operation will decrease.
Jirau and Santo Antônio operate in a “run-of-river” format, that is, they do not store water in their reservoirs.
The hydroelectric plants depend on the flow of the river to keep their turbines operating.

Source: Amazon Agency