Passo São João was the first undertaking bought at auction, on December 2005, after the company had been cut out of the National Privatization Plan (Plano Nacional de Desestatização), the company said in a statement.
The plant, on the Ijuí river, and will generate up to 77MW (3×38.5MW) once the second turbine comes into operation.
Ronaldo dos Santos Custódio, Engineering and Operations Director at Eletrobras Eletrosul, said that the undertaking is a benchmark for the company not only due to its return to the hydroelectric supply business, but also due to the positive results of the social and environmental actions developed along with the works. “Passo São João plant is starting to consolidate Eletrosul as a hydroelectric supply company and reasserts its technical and business capacities. It is also a concrete example of the integration with the nearby communities”, he said.