According to an official report issued by Itaiputhe demand for the power of the Central and the load of the SIN-PY experienced violent drops and massive peaks as the years passed. 120 minutes of play and the heart-stopping penalty shootout in the United States.
When the ball started rolling in the Boston Stadium for the 16th. At the end of the 2026 World Cup, the country’s productive and commercial activities stopped completely to tune in to the match. This mass disconnection was faithfully reflected in the technical records of the Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant, which showed a drastic drop in national demand as soon as the comparison began.
He Itaipu/ANDE exchange collapsed from 3,537 MW to 3,264 MW during the first part of the match, which meant a net reduction of 273MW (a 7.72% less) in a period of just 32 minutes. At the same time, the load of the Paraguayan system (SIN-PY) fell from 3,595 MW to 3,382 MWcrumbling a 5.92% in just 31 minutes.
Read more: World Cup 2026: Albirroja paralyzes the country and energy demand registers sudden ups and downs
While the televisions on held their breath after the great goal of Julio Enciso At 42 minutes, the factories, shops and offices turned off gave a momentary respite to the national energy distribution system.
Peaks at halftime and the end
However, the lull in consumption was broken as soon as the brief technical rest periods opened. In between times, the reactivation of appliances, lights and refrigeration home caused abrupt load jumps.
“The referee blows the final whistle, the first half ends, and then what happens? Everyone gets up from their seat, leaves, open the refrigeratorturn on the microwave, heat something up or make coffee,” described the Eng. Rodrigo Garcíamanager of the System Operation Division of the binational company days ago when explaining this phenomenon.
These variations alerted the operators at the headquarters, who had already prepared for this type of situation that occurs during matches of the Paraguayan national team, but, above all, Brazil.
Read more: World Cup 2026: soccer fever upsets Itaipu and exposes the gap between Paraguay and Brazil
He Itaipu/ANDE exchange suddenly jumped from 3,305 MW to 3,720 MWshooting a 12.56% in just 14 minutes of interval between periods of play. Likewise, the general load of the SIN-PY jumped 3,419 MW to 3,810 MWregistering a vertiginous variation of the 11.44% in a blink of 12 minutes.
Once the heroic Paraguayan classification was completed after the final penalty taken by Jose Canale and the monumental covers of the archer Orlando Gillnational consumption was quickly reactivated again with popular celebrations in the streets. After the final whistle, the exchange with the WALK rose from 2,993 MW to 3,299 MW (+10.22% in 17 minutes), and the SIN-PY climbed from 3,141 MW to 3,375 MW (+7.45% in 31 minutes).
The effect of the heart attack in Brazil
The dramatic elimination of the four-time world champion at the hands of Albirroja not only altered local electrical behavior, but also had a direct impact on the neighboring country. This same party also had impact on the load behavior of the Brazilian National Interconnected System (SIN-BR), something unexpected.
This event, not foreseen in the SIN-BR, normally happens in Brazil matches and in the World Cup finals. “This shows that apparently a good number of Brazilians were paralyzed by the Paraguay vs Germany match, mainly during overtime and in the penalty shootout of the match.” they reported.
Read more: Itaipu covered almost 88% of Paraguayan consumption, according to 2025 annual report
During the climax of the penalty shootout, when the entire continent watched in amazement at the fate of the match, the burden of SIN-BR fell drastically from 86,942 MW to 84,722 MWlosing 2,220 MW (2.55%) in just 12 minutes of maximum expectation.
Once the heart-stopping duel that sealed Paraguay’s place in the round of 16 was over, the electrical system of Brazil experienced a takeoff in demand. Its overall load increased with force of 84,942 MW to 89,171 MWwhich represented a massive increase in 4,449 MW (a 5.25% more) in just 15 minutes, closing a historic day where the passion of football completely reconfigured the flows of the largest hydroelectric plant in this area of the world.
From Itaipu they explained that the variation in the SIN-BR’s charge occurred when the match became interesting and went to a penalty shootout. Likewise, many Brazilians They supported Paraguay in revenge for that 7-1 win that they received at their home, as organizers of the 2014 World Cup.
