Windstorm topples six transmission towers in Mato Grosso do Sul; Brazil recorded more than 290 tower collapses in the second half of the year alone.

A gale with gusts of up to 110 km/h knocked down six electricity transmission towers and left seven municipalities and a district in Mato Grosso do Sul without power supply on Thursday afternoon (5). The structures are located in the Maracaju region (MS), about 160 kilometers from Campo Grande (MS).

The municipalities of Jardim, Porto Murtinho, Bela Vista, Caracol, Nioaque, Antônio João, and Guia Lopes de Laguna, as well as the district of Conceição, were affected. Power was restored after the utility company redirected distribution through other sections of the network.

Energisa, the concessionaire responsible for energy distribution in the region, reported that it has reinforced its service teams and implemented an emergency plan to accelerate the restoration of service. The concessionaire also maintained contact with the municipalities and responsible agencies to monitor the situation.

Weather events have brought down more than 290 towers since July.

The incident in Mato Grosso do Sul is the latest in a series of events that have highlighted the vulnerability of Brazil's energy transmission infrastructure in the face of extreme weather events.

According to a report released by the ONS (National System Operator), between July and October of this year, at least 290 transmission towers were brought down as a result of extreme weather events associated with the El Niño phenomenon.

The Director-General of ONS, Márcio Rea, stated that forecasts indicate the possibility of worsening storms in the coming months. According to him, increasing the resistance of structures to extreme winds represents an economic challenge, due to the cost of building more robust towers.

"In the past, with a heavy rain, you had winds of 90 to 100 kilometers per hour. Today it reaches 250 km/h. So the towers are not prepared," said Rea, after an event in Rio de Janeiro.

One of the most recent episodes occurred in the far south of Rio Grande do Sul in August, when the passage of a bomb cyclone knocked down 24 transmission towers and left consumers without power in the concession area of ​​CEEE Equatorial. The case was detailed by... Canal Solar featured in a report on the impacts of the cyclone on the electrical infrastructure of Rio Grande do Sul.

Cyclone knocks down 24 transmission towers in Rio Grande do Sul, leaving consumers without power.

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