Brazil’s national grid operator said a fire at the Bateias Substation in Paraná triggered a nationwide blackout in the early hours of Tuesday. The National System Operator (ONS) reported the incident at 00:32 local time, cutting roughly 10,000 megawatts of load across the South, Southeast/Central-West, Northeast, and North.
According to ONS, a reactor fire shut down the substation’s 500-kV yard and opened the tie between the South and Southeast/Central-West systems. At the time, the South was exporting about 5,000 MW to the Southeast/Central-West.
Regional impacts followed quickly: the South lost about 1,600 MW, the Northeast 1,900 MW, the North 1,600 MW, and the Southeast 4,800 MW. Crews began restoration within minutes. Power returned to the North, Northeast, and Southeast/Central-West within 90 minutes. The South completed restoration roughly two and a half hours after the event.
ONS scheduled a meeting today with the main parties involved and set a preliminary Disturbance Analysis session for Friday, 17 October.