The Brazilian director of the Itaipu binational hydroelectric plant, Army Reserve General Joao Francisco Ferreira, presented his resignation on Tuesday for “personal reasons” before serving a year in it.
Ferreira was in charge of the Brazilian part of Itaipú, which is administered together with Paraguay, since April 7, 2021, when he replaced another retired general, Joaquim Silva e Luna, who today is the president of the state oil company Petrobras.
“General Ferreira appreciates the support and commitment of the plant’s partners, especially the group of Itaipu workers,” the hydroelectric plant said in a note.
Under his management, Itaipu reached the mark of 2.8 billion megawatt-hours generated since it began operating in May 1984, data that consolidates it as “the hydroelectric plant that has produced the most energy in the world,” according to the statement. .
Ferreira alleged “personal reasons” for leaving the post, although the Brazilian press attributes his decision to discrepancies with the Brazilian Minister of Mines and Energy, Navy Admiral Bento Albuquerque, according to the newspaper ‘Folha de Sao Paulo’.
Likewise, ‘Valor Economico’, a São Paulo newspaper specializing in financial information, indicated that his position would be negotiated by parties from the base allied with the Government of President Jair Bolsonaro and that “to avoid wear and tear” he submitted his resignation.
Ferreira’s successor, who has not yet been disclosed, will have as one of his main missions to complete the negotiations with Paraguay on the revision of the Itaipu statutory treaty, which expires in 2023, when it will be 50 years since its signing.
The key to the discussion is in Annex “C” of the Treaty, which governs the operation and distribution of the energy generated by the hydroelectric plant shared by both countries.
According to this clause, each country receives 50% of the energy from the dam, but must sell to the other partner what it does not use, and Paraguay meets its demand with almost 10%, so the rest ends up in Brazil and at preferential prices. lower than those on the market.
On November 24, the Brazilian head of state, Jair Bolsonaro, received his Paraguayan counterpart, Mario Abdo Benítez, in Brasilia, where they began to discuss Itaipu’s tariffs, among other issues. EFE
