How Costa Mar's hydro surplus became a federal obligation

When Costa Mar's hydroelectric network was built in the 1990s, it was designed to serve the region's own economy and to export surplus power during the wet season. The system has worked as planned: the peninsula's rivers, fed by the tropical rains from May to November, fill reservoirs that generate electricity year-round. During wet months, excess power flows north to Tierra Verde and east to Oriente Moderno. During the dry season, Costa Mar's own grid shrinks slightly, but the reserves hold.

This year, the Federal Hydro Authority asked Costa Mar to increase dry-season exports by 15 percent. The request came in June, as a heatwave across Tierra Verde drove up demand for air conditioning. The region agreed. But now, in late September, with the rainy season not yet fully arrived and the dry season still technically in effect, the Federal Hydro Authority is asking for another increase.

The tension raises a question that Costa Mar's government has been reluctant to voice in Meridian: at what point does exporting renewable power become a form of resource extraction, and who bears the risk if the rains fail to arrive on schedule?