Yacyretá is a plain hydroelectric power station. In this type of facility, large floods can raise the river level downstream and thus reduce the net head, that is, the height difference between the reservoir and the riverbed.
This reduction affects the performance of the turbines. For this reason, although a high flow may allow for greater total energy generation, the increase is not proportional to the volume of water flowing.
In other words, each cubic meter of water may provide less energy when the river registers extraordinarily high levels.
Alerts before the arrival of water
The operational scheme of the Binational Yacyretá Entity allows for anticipating possible floods and communicating the situation to authorities and riverside communities with several days in advance.
The warning is precautionary and aims to prevent an eventual flood from catching by surprise those living in areas located downstream. In this regard, the Entity reported that it will continue to monitor the evolution of the phenomenon and keep the population informed as hydrological conditions change.
