en.Wedoany.com Reported - Brazil's National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) has decided to suspend the commercial operation of the UG13 generating unit (installed capacity 611.1 MW) at the Belo Monte Hydropower Plant from October 20, 2025, as the unit entered maintenance status and remained unavailable from that date. The decision was published on July 10 in the Official Gazette of the Federal Government of Brazil (DOU).

According to the technical department of Brazil's National Electric Energy Agency, the turbine was initially shut down for comprehensive preventive maintenance. During the inspection, deformation of the stator core laminations was discovered, a problem related to loss of axial compression in the magnetic core. The manufacturer recommended that the unit not be restarted until necessary repairs are completed.

Norte Energia, the company responsible for the Belo Monte Hydropower Plant, reported to Brazil's National Electric Energy Agency that the exact determination of the unit's prolonged unavailability occurred in January of this year, when it became clear that the maintenance period would exceed 90 days. The company submitted a notification to the agency on January 14, 2026, considering it to be within the stipulated deadline. However, the regulatory body rejected this explanation. The technical department assessed that the continuous unavailability starting from October 20, 2025, should have been reported by October 23, according to Normative Resolution 1.029/2022. The actual notification was 83 days late, which the technical department deemed to have compromised effective oversight of the plant's availability.

This suspension aims to align the unit's regulatory status with its actual technical condition and to allow for the recalculation of electricity generation and unavailability rate indices from the date of the incident. To resume commercial operation, Norte Energia must apply for the unit's restoration, demonstrating that the anomaly has been corrected, the stator has been repaired, and the equipment is operational.

In addition to the decision regarding the Belo Monte Hydropower Plant, Brazil's National Electric Energy Agency authorized the commercial operation of two solar power plants owned by the Perim supermarket chain in the state of Espírito Santo. The Perim Venda Nova and Perim Marataízes Photovoltaic Power Plants each had five generating units approved for commercial operation, with an installed capacity of 0.5 MW per plant, totaling 1 MW. The agency also approved the start of trial operation for the UFV Alimentos Sumaré photovoltaic power plant located in Paranavaí, Paraná state. The project was authorized to energize ten generating units, with a total installed capacity of 0.4 MW.