Work on the new 500 MW transmission line connecting Uruguay and Brazil is expected to be completed this year, with imports to Uruguay beginning in 2014 and exports to Brazil starting in 2015.
The link with Brazil will allow for the import of cheap energy during winter and the sale of Uruguay's excess power in the spring, according to Uruguay's mining, industry and energy ministry's (MIEM) energy director Ramón Méndez.
Due to the different frequencies of the neighbouring nations' grids (Brazil 60Hz, Uruguay 50Hz) a frequency converter was installed in Melo, Uruguay last year.
The line will initially have a capacity of 500 MW, small compared to the Uruguay - Argentina link's 2GW capacity, but could be increased to 1GW in ten years.
Total investment required for the project, being developed under a company named Isur formed by Uruguay's state power company UTE and national development corporation CND, is US$350mn, according to a previous statement from the president's office. The project was initially slated to come online in mid-2013.
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