Hydro grid margins tighten as dry season deepens

The Federal Hydro Authority reported this week that Costa Mar's reservoir system stands at 61 percent of capacity, the lowest August reading since 2021. The figure, logged at the authority's Puerto Azul monitoring station, reflects a dry season that has so far delivered 18 percent less rainfall than the thirty-year average.

For a region that runs its entire grid on hydroelectric power, the margin matters beyond local consumption. Costa Mar exports roughly a quarter of its generated electricity to neighbouring regions under federal supply agreements, and those commitments are now being weighed against the need to keep reservoir levels above the minimum required for dry-season generation.

The authority has not yet invoked any curtailment clause, but its monthly bulletin notes that export volumes for September will be reviewed against rainfall in the first two weeks of August. Local cooperatives that buy power at preferential rates are watching the numbers closely, as are the eco-lodges that depend on the grid's reputation for clean supply.

What the bulletin does not say is how the shortfall will be shared if the dry spell persists into September, a question that has already reached the Federal Assembly's energy committee in Meridian.