The president of the manager of Alqueva, José Pedro Salema, said this Wednesday that he does not foresee, as of October 1, “any restriction” on the use of the water stored in the reservoir, which has a volume of 64.5% .
“Given the mechanisms that are already provided for in the hydroelectric concession contract and the priorities of use, I believe that there will be no restrictions”the president of the Alqueva Development and Infrastructure Company (EDIA) told the Lusa news agency.
Asked about the Government’s determination that, as of October 1, there will be a temporary suspension of water resources in 15 reservoirs, including Alqueva, José Pedro Salema said he understood the reason for the inclusion of the Alentejo dam.
“Alqueva has a large storage volume, it is a gigantic battery, with significant power, 520 megawatts, and since it has a lot of water stored, it can work for many hours, so it can help for a long time,” he argued.
In the resolution of the Council of Ministers, approved this Tuesday, the executive determined, as of October 1, a temporary suspension in the water resources of 15 reservoirs, “until the minimum quotas of their useful capacity that they can reach are reached” . established”.
The objective is to create “a strategic water reserve in the reservoirs associated with hydroelectric projects” identified in the diploma.
The Government also determined that the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), “as the National Water Authority, promote, within 20 days following the publication of this resolution, with the collaboration of the global manager of the national electricity system (SEN) and after hearing the owners of the hydroelectric plants, the setting of the quota value, in meters, to be reached in each identified hydroelectric storage”.
The president of EDIA told Lusa that, as of today, Alqueva stores “2,670 million cubic meters of water”, that is, it has a volume of 64.5%, around quota 145.
“We have to wait for the definition of the minimum quota that we have to reach by the APA [que é a que] You have to do this calculation. But we also know how to make these calculations, we have already done it and we believe that we are already above that level and, therefore, it seems that there will be no need, at least immediately, to impose restrictions from October 1. “, he insisted.
The development will have “an unevenness of around 250 hectometers of water and, this year, this winter, we are not going to spend that, no way,” he added, stressing that, although the winter is dry, we must consider that the winter season it’s still “bring some water”.
José Pedro Salema also recalled that the Alqueva is a multipurpose company, that is, it serves as a strategic water reserve to supply the populations, for agriculture (it already reaches 130,000 hectares) and for the production of hydroelectric energy.
“Here there are a series of dependencies and obligations that, even according to the Water Law, have priority over hydroelectric production and, therefore, I believe that none of these systems will be called into question only to give priority to the production of energy,” he added. the argument.
Even so, the official said he understood “the reason for the resolution of the Council of Ministers”, because the country is experiencing “a very serious and very unpredictable situation”, with “a winter at the gates in which the reservoirs are relatively empty” . ”.
And it is necessary to “have some reserve”, with “hydroelectric dams” being the “only reserve” that can be “used almost immediately to meet peak demand for electrical energy”, he said.
Source: Observadora
