New power outage in Amazonas follows failure at J&F thermal plants
The Amazonian power system faced another significant interruption on the night of Thursday, September 3. The incident, which occurred just two weeks after a 294 MW outage, resulted in the loss of 169.4 MW of load this time.
The failure originated from the automatic shutdown of the 138/69 kV transformer at the João Paulo substation, in addition to the stoppage of the Pirarucu and Jaraqui thermal power plants.
The event began at 9:27 PM, affecting the 69 kV grid operated by Âmbar Energia Amazonas, also under the control of J&F. According to preliminary information from the National Electric System Operator (ONS), the exact cause of the incident is still under investigation.
Gradual power restoration
Normalization of the transformer at the João Paulo substation occurred around 11:10 PM. A few minutes later, the load restoration process began, with complete normalization achieved by 11:50 PM.
The operation of the Pirarucu and Jaraqui plants was impacted, with six generating units taken offline. Of these, four at Pirarucu (totaling 73.2 MW) and two at Jaraqui (totaling 35 MW) ceased operations.
Most of the generating units were reconnected to the system late Thursday night. However, one unit at UTE Pirarucu remained offline with no forecast for return at the time the preliminary report was released. MegaWhat reached out to Âmbar Amazonas Energia for an official statement.
A recurring scenario
This incident raises concerns, as it marks the second major interruption in less than a month. On August 20, a cascading shutdown involving substations and the UTE Tucunaré plant—also owned by J&F—caused an initial 294 MW interruption, followed by a further 121 MW cut during recovery procedures.
At that time, four generating units at UTE Tucunaré were affected. The recurrence of these events raises questions about the robustness and management of energy infrastructure in the region, demanding ongoing attention from regulatory bodies and industry companies to ensure stable power supply in Amazonas.
