The last time Brazil introduced electricity rationing it brought down the government. During 2001 and 2002 a combination of low rainfall and bad management forced distributors to limit supplies to residential and business users alike.

President Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s administration was branded “the blackout government” and his party was trounced in the 2002 election. The government of his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is keen to avoid any impression that such a thing could happen again.